Manchester United scored four goals in 20 minutes against Athletic Club to secure a spot in the Europa League final.
It was the latest in an impressive line of results for Manchester United this season in Europe, wrapping up the semi-final tie with a 7-1 win on aggregate.
The win saw Ruben Amorim’s team selection for the Europa League final a week on Thursday made more difficult, as Mason Mount made an excellent case for himself to be in the starting line-up.
Mount scored twice with excellent goals as Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro got one each to round out the scoring. It ended up being a free-scoring end to the nervy game, and it looked as though United would just keep scoring until the whistle blew.
There was however one attacking player for United who struggled and that was Alejandro Garnacho, as he left fans with heads in hands once more.
Before this performance, Scholes spoke about his big fear for Garnacho.
Paul Scholes shares his big worry about Manchester United selling Alejandro Garnacho
Garnacho was once again a starter for United on Thursday night, but he had a poor night. Garnacho scuppered two one-on-ones for United, which might have proven costly.
But before the game even kicked off, Paul Scholes was discussing Garnacho on TNT Sports, explaining his strengths and weaknesses along with one major fear he has over Ineos looking to sell.
“He’s perfect for a 4-3-3, he’ll run through and he will be a threat. I still think he needs to tidy up his decision-making a little bit. Sometimes his finishing or his final ball is a little bit rash, but he’s a young player.
“I fear that we’ll end up selling him for maybe £60m for PSR reasons, that we’ll let him go somewhere he will play in a 4-3-3 and end up scoring 25-30 goals a season. That’s how good I think this lad can be.
“I’m just struggling to find a position for him in this system.”
Scholes then concluded by adding, “I wouldn’t like it”, in relation to selling Garnacho this summer.
Alejandro Garnacho proved Paul Scholes’ point during Manchester United vs Athletic Club
Despite Scholes admitting his fears over selling Garnacho, only for him to go elsewhere and shine, his criticisms of the Argentine were proven true against Athletic Club.
Garnacho’s finishing might have cost United, as a failure to score big chances gave Bilbao hope of a comeback, which they were pushing to achieve for 70 minutes at least.
The 20-year-old was doing everything right, but his final product was once again letting him down, and left Amorim shaking his head on the sidelines.
Garnacho admitted he is working hard on his finishing at United, but he needs to show improvements now in order to give Ineos a reason not to sell for cheap.
Ideally, Garnacho will spend next summer as an option with Amad, Mount, and Matheus Cunha behind the striker, without the burden of playing 50 games a season.
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