Manchester United took on Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford this afternoon just over 24 hours after playing Atletico Madrid in Oslo, giving Erik ten Hag a chance to test out some of the younger players at the club.
Among them was Alejandro Garnacho, who lined up on the left wing.
The Argentine was lively in the early stages, getting on the ball and demonstrating his love for a shot as he cut inside onto his right foot on a couple of occasions.
He later initiated a counterattack by dribbling through the middle, before holding off his marker to release the ball unselfishly into Cristiano Ronaldo’s stride.
His ability to glide into the penalty area with the ball was a constant threat to Rayo throughout the first half, with the youngster showing no signs of being overawed by a packed Old Trafford.
Garnacho’s dribbles often began with the player himself winning the ball high up the pitch, and such an instance put a chance on a plate for Tahith Chong before the stroke of half time.
He was at it again in the first minute of the second half, twisting and turning to win a corner, which was claimed by the keeper, although the resulting turnover led to an Amad tap-in.
Withdrawn on the 72nd minute, the youngster enjoyed well-earned applause as he went off.
The MUTV commentary team went so far as to argue that his first half performance could give Ten Hag second thoughts regarding his squad selection against Brighton and Hove Albion next week, with his willingness to take people on a potential means to liven up a game from the bench.
While that might be a step too far, his performance will certainly have impressed the new manager.
Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, and Anthony Elanga are set to be the preferred wide options this season, with United in the market for another forward.
But if Garnacho can keep up this level of performance, he won’t be waiting too long for his first Premier League start.
