Following Manchester United’s stunning comeback against Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday night, Rio Ferdinand has urged the team to cling onto one star. It was all up for grabs as the teams squared off at Old Trafford after drawing the first leg of their quarterfinal match in France last week. At first, it appeared as though the Red Devils would easily defeat their opponents.
Before Corentin Tolisso and Nicolas Tagliafico pulled Lyon even after the break and forced extra time, goals from Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot in the first half placed Ruben Amorim’s team ahead comfortably. Despite being reduced to 10 men just before the end of the first half, the Ligue 1 team rallied and took a 4-2 lead in the second half. In a thrilling seven-minute stretch near the end of the game, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, and Harry Maguire all scored to help United win 5-4 on the evening and move on to the semi-finals 7-6 overall.
Although the entire United team gave their best during the thrilling comeback, Ferdinand was particularly impressed by one player and urged the team to keep Alejandro Garnacho.
Ferdinand Was Impressed With Garnacho Against Lyon
The forward had a superb evening
Garnacho’s performance this season hasn’t been very good. He appeared like an exciting potential talent after making his debut at United, but he has struggled to duplicate that performance this season, raising doubts about his future at Old Trafford. But after the Red Devils defeated their opponents, Ferdinand was quick to commend him, saying he was back to his best against Lyon. After full time, the Englishman spoke pitchside to TNT Sports, as reported by Metro:
Alejandro Garnacho may pose a serious threat when there is room to run into him. Yes, he needs to work on that final product, but it will happen because he is still a young player who is developing.
“Remain with him. I think Manchester United should continue to use him.
Garnacho was outstanding throughout the game, both when carrying the ball and when locating his teammates. During his 100 minutes on the pitch, he tried five dribbles and was successful on four of them. He distributed the ball impressively and gave the Lyon defensive a lot of trouble. He concluded the game with an assist, made three crucial passes, and missed only five passes during the evening.
He demonstrated that he was making contributions on far more than just the offensive end of the game by winning seven duels during the competition. Amorim will have a very gifted young star on his hands if he can continue to play like this in the future. It will also drastically alter the course of his future at Old Trafford.
