‘Future Ballon d’Or winner’: Man Utd fans dazzled by Garnacho super-sub cameo
Manchester United fans could not hide their excitement on social media after Alejandro Garnacho continued his rise to stardom by coming off the bench to and grabbing two assists to help his side defeat Aston Villa.
The 18-year-old replaced Anthony Martial after 62 minutes and intercepted a pass from Villa keeper Emi Martinez before laying the ball off to Bruno Fernandes to put United 3-2 up.
Garnacho helped seal victory with a perfectly-timed long-range pass from the byline to Scott McTominay, who wrapped up the win to send United through to the next round of the Carabao Cup.
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Having received his first senior start just weeks ago in the Europa League, Garnacho scored his maiden goal with the winner against Real Sociedad and also made his full Premier League debut in United’s last game.
The Argentine winger is considered arguably the brightest prospect at Old Trafford and stunned United supporters by inspiring Erik ten Hag’s side to victory with his 28-minute cameo.
It left fans dreaming of a golden future for the youngster, even a Ballon d'Or or two...
’Watch out Jadon’: Fans react to Garnacho gold
Most the awe was directed to Garnacho’s second assist, with fans describing the pass to McTominay with every superlative in the dictionary, from ‘sublime’ to ‘world class’.
One fan even mocked how Garnacho swapping shirts with Villa’s Leon Bailey ‘was the only time an opponent got close to him tonight’.
Garnacho. we might have a superstar on our hands. 🇦🇷🌟
— centredevils. (@centredevils) November 10, 2022
Garnacho is going to be a special player for this football club and we're lucky to be alive to witness it
— Aidan Walsh 🔰 (@AidanWalshMUFC) November 10, 2022
One day…..Alejandro Garnacho will win the Ballon d'Oro. 🇦🇷
— Castro1021 (@Castro1021) November 10, 2022
Some United fans, however, could not help but see Garnacho’s display as a warning shot to Jadon Sancho, with the England winger slowly falling out of contention at Old Trafford after a poor run of form.
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Sancho is coming back to face a new competition in Garnacho, and this kid will surely put up a fight.
Pace, take-ons, energy, and drive — he's a breathe of fresh air... a Manchester United winger, and I'm glad he's developing under Ten Hag. pic.twitter.com/xbdrzTYNGu— UtdFaithfuls (@UtdFaithfuls) November 10, 2022
If his exclusion from the World Cup conversation wasn’t enough to kick Sancho into gear during the break, Garnacho genuinely replacing him in the LW pecking order has to.
— Alex Turk (@AlexCTurk) November 10, 2022
Garnacho’s performance provided some relief to United supporters who were yearning for a player to throw their hopes behind and the wonderkid’s future appears to be limitless after a rapid elevation to becoming a fan favourite.