5
Manchester United’s loan army is vast and fans are always interested in how those players are doing away from the club.
One among that army is Alvaro Fernandez whose name has been cropping up regularly now that United have a crisis at left-back.
The Spaniard is on loan at Granada in La Liga and recently had a baptism of fire against FC Barcelona.
Granada got a great result with a 2-2 draw against Los Cules but for Alvaro Fernandez, it was a bittersweet outing against one of world football’s greatest rising talents- Lamine Yamal.
All of Fernandez’s usual attributes were on display, in defence and in attack.
While he seemed industrious and exciting on the rare occasion he ventured forward, his defensive game left a lot to be desired.
Yamal was recognised as the Man of the Match for his goalscoring effort as Fernandez switched off on his man, leading to Yamal scoring a tap-in at his post.
Granada were leading 2-0 at that point but Yamal’s goal at the stroke of half-time spurred them on to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.
Fernandez had one clearance, two interceptions, and three tackles in defence. (Stats courtesy of Sofascore)
He wasn’t really involved much in the passing game as Barcelona hogged the majority of possession.
None of his crosses or long balls were accurate but he did manage to complete two out of three dribbles attempted as Granada tried to use him as an outlet against Catalans’ suffocating press.
Overall, it was a performance that showed both, the best and worst of Fernandez. United will hope that he learns from this experience and comes back to United a more complete player by getting these mistakes out of his system on loan.
