MANCHESTER, England – When the Manchester United players left at half-time, 2-0 up against Everton, they disappeared down the Old Trafford tunnel to a chorus of “Viva Garnacho” coming from the fans in the Stretford End. Manager Erik ten Hag followed with his usual stony expression, but it wouldn't have been a surprise if he was singing in his head.
After a week in which pressure increased on the Dutch manager, Alejandro Garnacho won two first-half penalties, converted by Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, after drawing James Tarkowski and then Ben Godfrey into clumsy challenges to help the United to achieve a much greater victory. They needed to win in the race to qualify for next season's Champions League.
“I think the guys transferred the game plan very well,” Ten Hag said afterwards. “By dropping [deeper] bruno and scott [McTominay] and then enter the races behind Garnacho and Rashford. We wait for Everton's high press, with their double six they go towards our double six and then we create space behind. “I felt satisfied with that and from there we scored the goals, the penalties.”
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Ten Hag is still walking a tightrope as United manager, having claimed his first Premier League win in three games, but if he survives the summer it will be partly thanks to Garnacho. The 19-year-old is not only his most productive attacking player, but can also point to the Argentine winger's emergence as one of the biggest successes of his time at Old Trafford.
After a largely disappointing campaign which has seen United sit sixth in the table, Ten Hag needs to finish the season strongly whilst convincing new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe that he is the right man. for the long-term position. Garnacho is key to both. His contribution against Everton saved United from another awkward afternoon and possibly saved Ten Hag from having another awkward conversation with Ratcliffe.
“It's progressing very well and we're very pleased with it,” Ten Hag said. “His contribution today was enormous, his runs, his dribbling. He is also attractive to the crowd, obviously we want to show something. I think the penalties well deserved. If he can stay focused and if he puts in the right effort… “Sometimes for young players is difficult. We have your job to do. When he maintains this approach, he will improve game by game. “The week you win your game, you have to get it right.”
Garnacho, however, cannot paper over all the cracks in this United team and, despite Everton arriving on the back of a 10-match winless run in the Premier League, they still managed to expose some familiar weaknesses.
One criticism of United this season is that they concede too many shots, and after the first 45 minutes, Everton had managed 11. Dwight McNeil twice fired past the post, and the half-time score would have been 2-1 instead of 2 -0 if Raphaël Varane had not blocked his third shot of the half just before the break.
United's poor start, which gave Amadou Onana a chance just two minutes after kick-off, was characterized by midfielder Casemiro giving up possession eight times in the first 25 minutes alone. You can get away with it against an Everton team that is among the league's lowest scorers, but probably not against Liverpool, who come to Old Trafford next weekend. By the end, Everton had recorded 23 shots on goal to make the 134 that United have faced in just their last six league games.
“If you see his xG [expected goals] It's not that high [1.51] and ours is much higher [3.12]”said Ten Hag, when asked if it is sustainable to face more than 20 shots in each game (although two penalties helped United's figure a little). “We have players who are comfortable defending down low. But you have to be disciplined and you have to incorporate it very well.
“They are low quality opportunities. You see the opportunities, they had some, I also think the way we defended the set pieces was very good. We were very organized and concentrated, everyone did their job. There were one or two seconds.” “There were phases where they had some opportunities, but overall we did pretty well.”
Despite Ten Hag's insistence that it doesn't matter how many shots the opposition have, Liverpool will be delighted to see how many chances Everton created ahead of the FA Cup quarter-finals.
United hope to have forward Rasmus Højlund available to face Jurgen Klopp's team, but his possible return will not be at the expense of Garnacho. The winger has not missed a game since the derby defeat against Manchester City in October and, finally winning the game against Everton, he was substituted with seven minutes remaining. Any rest is valuable for one of Ten Hag's most important players ahead of a series of matches between now and the end of the season that will play a major role in deciding Ten Hag's future.
Named Best Man of the Match, Garnacho had to remain on the pitch after the final whistle to fulfill his media obligations. When he finally left, he did so to a standing ovation from the fans who had stayed behind and more chants of “Viva Garnacho.”
The teenager is keeping United's Champions League hopes alive – and also Ten Hag's hopes that he will be allowed to remain as manager.
