Anthony Elanga has faced criticism from Manchester United fans after he appeared to help Brentford on their counter attack on Saturday evening.
The footage posted on social media showed Elanga warming up on the sideline whilst Brentford were on a counter attack. Bryan Mbeumo’s attempted pass was blocked by Raphael Varane and the ball went out of play.
At that moment, the video showed Elanga quickly picking the ball up and throwing it back to Mbeumo, who then took a quick throw in to Rico Henry whilst United defenders were slowly getting back into their positions.
Henry got into a dangerous position to cross the ball but luckily for Elanga and United, it did not result in a meaningful shot on goal.
However, since the footage went online, Elanga has been criticised for giving the ball back to his team’s opponents in such quick fashion.
One fan said: “I was surprised this never got picked up on the post match analysis, it looked shocking seeing it from the West Stand, even worse seeing it here.”
Another tweeted: “Thought it when it happened, what’s He playing at.”
A third fan added: “I was rather surprised. He did it more than once.”
Elanga made his United debut under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer towards the back end of the 20/21 season and featured much more regularly in the 21/22 season, especially under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
He is yet to start a game this season but he recently revealed that he is working on a new finishing technique under Erik ten Hag.
Elanga told United’s official website during a fan Q&A: “Recently, I’ve been working more on different ways of finishing.
“One touch, when it’s bouncing in front of you, how to volley and get the right contact on the ball.
“I’ve been working [on it] a lot so, hopefully, I can use it more this season and score many goals.”
Elanga managed a total of eight goals and five assists in the last campaign and will hope to produce better numbers this season.
Next up for United is the small matter of hosting bitter rivals, Liverpool at Old Trafford as they look to climb off the foot of the Premier League table by searching for their first win of the season.
Topics: Manchester United, Anthony Elanga, Brentford, Premier League
