Manchester United face Leeds for a second time in five days when they meet at Elland Road on Super Sunday. Garnacho, 18, has appeared in Man Utd’s last 10 Premier League outings on either side of the World Cup, playing 59 minutes on Wednesday evening.
Garnacho is having an impact
Erik ten Hag has laid down a challenge for teenager Alejandro Garnacho – to score more goals – and believes his on-field emotion is a strength. Manchester United face Leeds for a second time in five days when they meet at Elland Road on Super Sunday. Garnacho, 18, has appeared in Man Utd’s last 10 Premier League outings on either side of the World Cup, playing 59 minutes on Wednesday evening. While the forward has primarily impressed with his performances, Ten Hag wants the forward to start adding more goals and assists to his game. In his pre-match press conference, the Man Utd boss said: “He is having an impact, is doing well. He had good actions and created chances against Leeds but had to score.
The player has sometimes cut a frustrated figure when substituted off
“As a striker, you must be on the scoring list and the assist list, key action list, to have the right impact. We expect him also to do the other stuff, but that is the base. If you don’t do extra, then you have to do that as a base function. As a Man Utd player, we expect you to influence the score and the result and to have a positive influence on the game.” Garnacho has sometimes cut a frustrated figure when substituted off, doing so against Leeds and previously against Crystal Palace. But Ten Hag is not concerned about any potential issues with the teenager’s attitude. “I don’t think it’s about not understanding the decision,” he added.
“He is quite emotional; that is a strength. He wants to win, he wants to play football, and he doesn’t want to miss any minutes, and I think that’s a cool thing.”
The team is always above everything
“He is totally convinced of himself, and that’s a good thing. The biggest stress factor that you have is to perform, and he is. He wants to contribute to the end, but we accept decisions. The team is always above everything, and he knows that. When he comes off, the emotion and frustration is not against that – that’s he’s not accepting it.” On Thursday, the prospect of a European Super League once again surfaced with new plans proposed. Manchester United were one of the teams embroiled in controversy in 2021. They were named as part of a 12-team breakaway European league, only to drop out of the project two days later quickly.
When asked about the new proposals, Ten Hag said he has yet to have time to look into them – instead focusing on the team he has to manage – and will let others at Man Utd consider their options.
According to Ten Hag, the current UCL structure is good
“I’m aware of the dynamic and what’s going on, but if they are coming up with new ideas, I have to have a look at it, and I will make an opinion. I’m not aware because we are playing so many games, we have to develop this team, and we have some problems with new players to bring, so that’s where my focus point is. I need all my energy. The people at the club will look at it and inform me if the time is there and if the moment is there, we have to make decisions, but they are up to the club.”
“The current Champions League structure is good, but there will always be initiatives to make it better, to make football better. That’s what life is. People always want to construct better, which is a good thing. If it’s in favour of the football, it’s always good.”