How good can Alejandro Garnacho become?
A starring role in Manchester United’s FA Youth Cup win two years ago grew into one as a promising first-team substitute in 2022-23. Then last season saw Garnacho score one of the best bicycle-kick goals in Premier League history, experiment with a new role on the right wing and put United 1-0 up in what became a brilliant FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City.
United supporters became enamored with the sight of the 19-year-old, who turned 20 this month, sprinting toward fatigued opponents during his 50 appearances in the 2023–24 campaign. Regardless of the match, the score, the opponent’s size, speed, or technical skill, Garnacho backed himself to defeat him in a footrace before attempting to cut inside and attempt a goal.
The young forward’s performance in the Community Shield on Saturday at Wembley demonstrated both his strengths and weaknesses.
His goal in the 82nd minute sealed a team move that began with United regaining the ball back in their own half. He came on as a second-half substitute, replacing Amad just before the hour.
Garnacho is seen along the right touchline at the start of that play, providing width.
Then, as soon as Bruno Fernandes touches the ball, he leaps to life, indicating an early pass and a chance for him to penetrate past City’s defense.
Excellent outside-of-the-boot passing from Fernandes, but Garnacho still has work to do when the ball is first in play because Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji are backing up toward their own goal.
The six-cap Argentina international makes an incredible drive into the City penalty area, cutting inside as Dias takes another step back, creating more room for him to rush into.
He realizes Josko Gvardiol can not turn to face him and make a tackle, so he keeps running inside.
He manages to eke out a little extra space, and with it, he fires a left-footed shot that finds the net at Ederson’s near post.
Ally McCoist, a former Scotland and Rangers striker and co-commentator on UK broadcaster ITV, praised Garnacho for becoming United’s youngest goal scorer in the Charity/Community Shield since club legend George Best did so in 1965. McCoist called Garnacho a “positive player” who was willing to take the ball on and make things happen.
This has been reflected in his attitude off the pitch, too.
After taking his required post-Copa America vacation, Garnacho came back to United a few days early in order to improve his match fitness for the new season. Due to their extensive preseason with the club during their three-match U.S. trip, Erik ten Hag favored starting Marcus Rashford and Amad on Saturday. However, he also praised Garnacho’s performance during his cameo in the team’s final 1-1 loss on penalties.
“There’s always a lot of work — in the right areas, in the pressing, compact pressing and also running in behind when attacking,” said the United manager of Garnacho. “We expect a lot of movement in behind, so we need speed. We need fresh players, but also players to start. To bring on Alejandro is always very good to have in your backhand.
“There were more reasons not to start with him, but he did very well when he came in. The plan went how we thought it should go. (It was) only disappointing we couldn’t bring it over the line.”
“Bring it over the line” is a phrase Ten Hag has used in relation to Garnacho before.
Despite not being the tallest or strongest player on the United team (he stands at 180 cm, or 5 feet 11 inches), his relentless sprinting made him their best option for long balls for a significant portion of the previous campaign. With time, Fernandes, goalie Andre Onana, and other players discovered they could direct passes towards him, confident that he would either manage to carry the ball an additional five yards or get a foul to ease defensive pressure.
Garnacho’s two goals in 12 second-half minutes to turn a 2-0 deficit before Rasmus Hojlund’s late winner in a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa in December is a prime illustration of how he can help his side win.
In April, United’s 4-3 loss to Chelsea served as an example of the opposite; with United leading 3-2 at the 86th minute, two-goal Garnacho was brought on to replace Mason Mount. Perhaps hoping to save his forward for a match against Liverpool at home three days later, Ten Hag’s team withered away in the final minutes.
“We were in a winning position with very good football and scoring great goals,” Ten Hag said after that loss. “Then, in stoppage time, we didn’t bring the win over the line.”
In a season marred by injuries and unpredictability among United’s other strikers, adolescent Garnacho proved to be his manager’s dependable asset as well as a small source of consternation because he is a talented and driven player who is best when he runs at weary defenders.
Before November 1st of last year, Garnacho had not started more than two consecutive games for United. However, he went on to play 38 consecutive games for the rest of the season, making the transition from valued attacker to favored offensive substitute. But the extra practice had a double-edged effect: Garnacho’s form declined in the early spring after initially getting more game time.
Garnacho during the Community Shield on Saturday (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Teams were aware of his techniques and started attacking the wing spaces behind him to see if he would come back and assist in defense. A player who was most effective at taking advantage of opponents’ weariness started to struggle when he naturally started to get tired from playing so many minutes (3,574 in four contests). Garnacho, who concluded 2023–24 with 10 goals and five assists, was required to do a lot of work.
What kind of season does he have in store for 2024–2025? When playing against the Argentinian, opposing players may become frustrated. For instance, after some heated exchanges, the incredibly skilled Bernardo Silva was booked on Saturday for a nasty foul against him. As a professional pest, Garnacho draws attention to himself and pushes defenders back toward his own objective.
Ten Hag seems to like using him as a player who can stretch the play and get underneath defenses on the right wing. His ability to recognize when to break forward with the ball and when to wait for teammates to join him rather than sprinting into dead ends has improved, as has the consistency of his defense.
However, Garnacho’s game still has room to improve, and he appears ready to go to the next level and rank among the Premier League’s most dangerous and reliable forwards.
He demonstrated his ability to start games for United routinely during the previous campaign. This one will measure how many of those starts he can complete and, in the process, lead his side to victory.
(Top photo: Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)
