'A world-class player? He has to go a long way...': Erik Ten Hag on Manchester United Star Forward

With a 2-1 triumph in the second week of the Premier League 2024/25 season on August 24, 2024 Brighton guaranteed a spectacular win against Manchester United. Danny Welbeck, a former United player, scored the opening goal at the 32nd minute and Amad Diallo equalised the Reds at the 60th minute. But late disappointment for Manchester United resulted from Brighton's João Pedro's winning goal in the 90+5th minute. After two games, this win maintained Brighton temporarily at the top of the rankings. With practically equal proportion of possession, the game showed 14 Brighton shots and 11 Manchester United ones.

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Erik Ten Hag stated that Alejandro Garnacho has not yet achieved world-class status

After the denied goal in Manchester United's Premier League game against Brighton & Hove Albion, Alejandro Garnacho was visibly devastated. The Saturday, August 24 encounter at the Amex Stadium concluded in a 2-1 Red Devil defeat.

With Danny Welbeck's goal, Brighton led, supported by Kaoru Mitoma in the 32nd minute. Amad Diallo scored following a feed by Noussair Mazraoui to level Manchester United in the 60th minute.

Marcus Rashford replaced Garnacho on the pitch in the 65th minute, then scored in the 72nd minute. Sadly, VAR denied the goal as Joshua Zirkzee offside on the play before it. João Pedro of Brighton's final goal in the 95th minute further infuriated Manchester United.

Head coach Erik ten Hag spoke about Alejandro Garnacho before Manchester United's last Premier League game against Brighton & Hove Albion. According to GOAL, the Argentine might grow into a world-class athlete, hence the manager underlined Garnacho's potential. Erik Ten Hag said: 

"A world-class player? He has to go a long way. He has high potential. He showed last season he can contribute and be a starting XI player. To make the jump and become a world-class player, it starts with very hard work. That brought him to where he is now and that will bring him to being that world-class player. I agree he has the potential.

"Every club at the top needs players with the X-factor. Garnacho has it in him to become that player. We’ve already seen on occasions that he has shown the X-factor, so if you want to be that player that people are saying is world-class, then you have to do it consistently. He has that skill," 

Garnacho made his Manchester United debut in 2022, and what’s interesting is that his first-ever goal for the club was assisted by his own idol, Cristiano Ronaldo, who was a United player at that time. The 20-year-old Garnacho scored 10 goals and provided 5 assists for the Red Devils in 50 games last season.

Despite a disappointing result vs Brighton, the young Argentine star went on to thank the Manchester United fans for their continuous love and support for the team, which has failed to live up to the expectations and the high standard that they once had under Sir Alex Ferguson. Garnacho wrote: 

“God has something planned for me, trust the process 🤞🏻.”

"Thank you United fans for always supporting us"

Manchester United have had a poor start to the Premier League 2024/25 campaign, as they are currently 11th on the table with 3 points. They will now be seen in action against their arch-rivals, Liverpool, next week on Sunday, September 1, 2024