Alejandro Garnacho will always have Goodison Park. His goal against Everton put him under permanent suspension, permanently frozen upside down. Just as George Best tore through the Sheffield United defense and Bobby Charlton’s howitzer at Anfield, Garnacho has an enduring symbol of his time as a Manchester United player.
It was a stunning moment of visceral brilliance that even the player couldn’t understand. A series of automatic triggers located along the nerve pathways and on his right foot are designed to intercept the ball in the air and send it into the Everton goal in an arc of mesmerizing beauty.
In a split second, Garnacho stole Everton’s energy and weakened Goodison Park’s firepower. The topic suddenly became Garnacho and United rather than Everton’s outrage over points being deducted for financial irregularities. Everton would have to use more daily fuel to save the day. No matter how bravely they acted, United stood firm before retreating.
Garnacho will now be forced to repeat the trick in every game, starting Wednesday in Istanbul against Galatasaray. Of course it’s impossible. But it normal.
What United needs more than miraculous goals is an increase in expected diversity. United rank tenth in the Premier League in terms of expected goals (xG), which, simply put, is a measure of the quality of chances created.
United’s win over Everton was their first Premier League victory this season by more than one goal. Despite failing to respond three times, United remain one of only two teams in the top 10 without a positive goal difference.
Garnacho took an easier chance in the second half, better reflecting United’s inconsistent performance.
This and other historical examples prompted captain Bruno Fernandes to remind Garnacho to constantly contribute and not perform at peaks and valleys. The point was well made, and Fernandez gave similar advice to Garnacho after the Argentina Supernova breakthrough.
It also demonstrated a quality to Fernandes’s captaincy that had been overlooked in the recent rush to send him off for a tiresome display of irritation and frustration. For all his shortcomings, Fernandez sees the bigger picture. Perhaps he cares too much. He also showed good leadership qualities, passing the ball to Marcus Rashford for a penalty that was brilliantly converted.
While Roy Keane saw it as a virtuous act that signaled recklessness and threatened victory at a critical moment, others saw it as exemplary on-field behavior and saw it as an opportunity to bolster a player’s faith in a crisis of confidence. That’s why Rashford looked like a different player in the last half hour.
Keene’s leadership model applies to a narrower spectrum because it barely takes personality type into account. Rashford would be lost in Keane’s team. With Fernandes behind him, he has a chance to rise, just as he did with England in the recovering arms of Gareth Southgate.
United’s chances will likely lie with 18-year-old Cobby Mine, whose first Premier League start at Goodison Park has caused a stir.
Mainu’s astonishing performance was to some extent dictated by the absence of a player of such authority at the heart of United’s midfield.
Erik ten Hag thought he had had enough of Casemiro until the aging Brazilian ran out of gas at the end of last season. Sofyan Amrabat hints at progress, but only rarely achieves results.
Mainu looks like a player ten years his senior: he handles the ball, breaks lines, initiates attacks and clears dangers with ease.
The win over Everton was only marginally different from recent performances. As Ten Hag admitted, Everton controlled the tempo in the first half.
Although United improved in the second half, they lacked composure in crucial moments, gave the ball away too often and allowed Everton too many penalty runs in their defence.
The goals were scored at Goodison Park. Otherwise, there could be talk of replacing Ten Hag. He still can’t get his players to see the game he wants to see.
United appear to be on the verge of an ‘aha moment’ but they are simply too fragile to pursue their vision with the necessary conviction. Across the city, City continue to do Pep’s work. The impressive cohesion and fluidity of movement comes entirely from players being forced to work harder, run faster, and dig deeper out of love for their leader.
Jurgen Klopp is also a power guru. Mikel Arteta thinks he has it. Roberto De Zerbi too.
The atmosphere around Ten Hag is bad. United need to make some connections in Istanbul to stay in the Champions League.
They will have another global colleague in Garnacho, but as Fernandes wisely advised, sometimes you have to take the everyday route. There are enough connections.
Source: I News
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.