Alejandro Garnacho’s immediate reaction to Antony scoring during Manchester United’s Carabao Cup tie against Barnsley speaks volumes.
The Red Devils were in a ruthless mood on Tuesday night as they thrashed Barnsley 7-0 at Old Trafford.
Garnacho, Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford all netted twice while Antony scored one from the penalty spot.
Brazilian winger Antony has largely struggled since making his big-money move from Ajax to United and after scoring against Barnsley to make it 2-0, received an embrace from Garnacho.
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The Argentine went over to Antony and gave him a kiss on the head as the pair celebrated the goal.
Manchester Evening News senior football writer George Smith wrote: “After racing away to celebrate, he (Antony) was embraced by Garnacho first, with the Argentine giving his fellow South American a kiss on the side of his head.
“Garnacho was clearly aware of just how much that goal would have meant to the Brazilian. Casemiro then had a word with his fellow countryman, no doubt offering words of encouragement and advice.”
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After the match, manager Erik ten Hag was full of praise for United’s forward players, especially Rashford.
He said: “In my first season, also he had this vibe and this good mood. When I see Marcus Rashford, I’m composed and I’m confident that he will score. I think last season was, for everyone, difficult but, in the end, we were able to win a trophy last season, you can’t forget this. But by the end, we found our targets, we hit the targets we wanted to get and this is what we aim for this season as well.
“We want to progress and be better, we are very ambitious, we want to go forward as a team. Also individual players, Marcus Rashford wants to score goals and that is what I saw. But not only Marcus Rashford, it’s the whole team and they are really hungry looking for goals.”
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There was also a debut for summer signing Manuel Ugarte, who started in midfield alongside Casemiro before being taken off in the 62nd minute, replaced by Bruno Fernandes.
United are back in action this weekend when they on Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Saturday evening.
Topics: Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Manchester United, Football, Carabao Cup
Marcus Chan