Alejandro Garnacho becoming ‘real threat’ as Scholes explains why Man Utd prospect may have overtaken big Ten Hag signing

Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho has received praise for his role in their win over Manchester City in the derby on Saturday.

Alejandro Garnacho got the assist for the winning goal as United came from behind to beat City. Jack Grealish had put the visitors ahead before Bruno Fernandes equalised. Then, Garnacho set up Marcus Rashford to make it 2-1.

The result has lifted United to within a point of City. Many plaudits have gone to Rashford, who scored in the seventh consecutive game.

But even at the time of his goal, it was clear that Garnacho had played a major part. Fernandes sent him through in space on the left wing, before his first cross deflected back to him off Manuel Akanji.

Garnacho then got a low cross past Nathan Ake to put the ball on a plate for Rashford to finish.

In commentary, Jermaine Jenas had said the goal was “all about Garnacho”. And later in the afternoon, some of his BT Sport colleagues backed up how influential Garnacho has been.

The winger was only on the pitch from the 72nd minute after replacing Christian Eriksen. United’s equaliser soon followed and within 10 minutes of his introduction, Garnacho was contributing to a significant goal.

Assessing his impact afterwards, Paul Scholes claimed Garnacho deserved to come on earlier, pointing to when Antony replaced Anthony Martial at half-time.

Highlighting Garnacho’s direct approach, the former United midfielder emphasised how he can have an impact.

Scholes said on BT Sport: “I think he’s been good every time I’ve seen him this season and I think he’s been a real threat.

“I thought he probably should have come on before Antony, although Antony does have his strengths, don’t get me wrong.

“But this lad is direct. He doesn’t care, there’s no fear in a young player. He wants to score goals and he wants to make goals. And he’s more than capable of doing it.

“You see against Ake, you fancy him.

“His first ball wasn’t great. He got away with that one a little bit. And then all he does is, he puts it into an area and thankfully Marcus is there. And the form Marcus is on, you expect him to score and he slides it on it.”

Rio Ferdinand in agreement about fearless Alejandro Garnacho

Fellow former Man Utd man, Rio Ferdinand, was in agreement about Garnacho’s lack of fear.

Ferdinand added: “He’s a player with his age, he has no fear and he’s not affected by reputations.

“I see a lot of wingers face up with someone like Kyle Walker and because of his reputation, his attributes – pace, strength, etc – probably come back and keep passing it backwards.

“But him, no.”

Alejandro Garnacho has now amassed five assists and two goals from 17 appearances for the Man Utd first team.

READ MORE: Ten Hag hails Rashford resilience in Man Utd derby win, before crossing boundary with admission on controversial goal