Garnacho may lose Man Utd role he ‘deserves’ as Ten Hag U-turn justified in win

Man Utd v Wolves: Pictures

Erik ten Hag raised the expectations before the game. Handing Alejandro Garnacho just his sixth Premier League start since the beginning of last season, the Manchester United boss insisted that the ultra-talented Argentine ‘deserved’ his moment at Old Trafford.

“I think last season he improved a lot, he has huge potential. He’s a threat one-versus-one without the ball and with the ball with his dribbles,” Ten Hag said before sending out his team against Wolves. 

“He can come off the bench and do it, he showed that a lot of times but he deserved the chance to do that tonight in the starting 11.”

Many United fans have plundered their hopes on Garnacho being the next Cristiano Ronaldo. But their Premier League opener against Wolves was evidence that the winger still has some way to go before he can demand to frequently begin his side’s biggest game. 

A couple of loose passes epitomised Garnacho’s first half display. This is a player who will no doubt become one of the Premier League’s most feared wingers. He shone in his cameo appearances last term, although many of those came as a second-half substitute when his electric pace suited wide-open games. 

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But Ten Hag – who is particularly demanding of his wide men – has a wealth of options in that position and will harbour few doubts over rotating an inconsistent Garnacho in and out of his team. That is no slight on an exciting 19-year-old learning his trade, but more the reality for a player who is not quite consistent enough over 90 minutes. 

Nelson Semedo ultimately got the better of the former Atletico Madrid prospect. One wayward left-footed strike that landed high up in the Stretford End was as close as Garnacho came to making his mark on a tight and cagey game that scarcely suited his attributes. 

That lack of penetration ultimately summed up United’s performance. This was an underwhelming victory and Wolves were perhaps unfortunate not to take all three points, let alone just one. 

There were few chances created by a side that, on paper, would have been expected to create more for Marcus Rashford. New striker Rasmus Hojlund, who watched on from the stands, will demand more of Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes than they produced in this display. 

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But while some stars struggled to take the opportunities handed his way, their team-mate Aaron Wan-Bissaka certainly accepted his own. The right-back has long seemed destined for the Old Trafford exit but a positive pre-season has landed him a reprieve. 

Wan-Bissaka was excellent against Wolves and his improvement in the final third is particularly notable. It was his stabbed cross, the result of better composure inside the penalty area, that landed on Raphael Varane’s head for the Frenchman to finally score the game’s only goal. 

For now, the 25-year-old appears to have won the battle with Diogo Dalot for the right-back spot. Ten Hag’s persistence with a player who until recently had no future at the club has paid off. 

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