By now, it’s no mystery who Alejandro Garnacho looks up to in the Manchester United dressing room.
18-year-old Garnacho has been very forthcoming about his admiration for five-time Ballon d’Or winner and United legend Cristiano Ronaldo.
Thursday night’s Europa second-leg game provided another milestone in the starlet’s blossoming career.
It also gave Garnacho an opportunity to heap praise on Ronaldo. After United’s win, the starlet posted a picture of himself emulating the Portuguese talisman’s latest viral goal celebration.
He captioned the photo: “18 years and 125 days dreaming of this moment. Thanks Idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.”
According to ESPN, such is his respect that Garnacho asked his idol if he could do the celebration before he went ahead.
Garnacho asked Ronaldo if he could do his celebration ❤️ pic.twitter.com/c2YqupW9Eh
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 4, 2022
The Red Devils needed to win by a two-goal margin to secure the top spot in their group. It was a feat that proved beyond Erik ten Hag’s men.
United found themselves soaking up sustained pressure from an attack-minded Real Sociedad.
Imanol Alguacil’s team was not content to sit back and close shop, bearing down on the United goal all evening.
David de Gea put in another impressive shift alongside the backline to secure another clean sheet.
The star of the show, however, was the young Argentinian forward.
Garnacho scored the night’s only goal in his second senior start for the English side. Fittingly, none other than Ronaldo provided the assist.
Ronaldo played through the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year, who left the defense in his wake after a few telling touches.
Garnacho then sent a rocket into the roof of the net with his weaker foot. His performance earned him his second Man of the Match award in Europe in two games.
The win means United continue their unbeaten run in all competitions, extending their streak to nine matches.
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