Manchester United star Alejandro Garnacho praised Facundo Pellistri after the Uruguayan made his full debut for the Reds in the 1-0 victory over Real Betis on Thursday.
Pellistri has had to remain patient as he waited for his opportunity to feature for United. Until Erik ten Hag arrived, the 21-year-old had not made a single appearance for the first team.
However in January, Pellistri came off the bench against Charlton Athletic in the League Cup to break that duck. The Uruguayan went on to make two appearances in the Premier League before earning his biggest opportunity to date this week.
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Ten Hag chose Pellistri to play from the start in Seville as the Reds beat Manuel Pellegrini's side 1-0 on the night, 5-1 on aggregate. Taking to Instagram after the game, the forward wrote of his pleasure with the result.
He posted: "To the next round. Thanks for coming Reds. [Soon] the quarter-finals."
Pellistri was inundated with messages including from Garnacho, who responded: "What a player." Meanwhile, the official United account replied: "Congrats on your first senior start and 90 minutes."
Chances for Pellistri could start to come thick and fast in the weeks ahead following an injury to Garnacho that occurred last weekend. The teenager was fouled in the draw with Southampton and sustained an ankle injury.
While it is not yet clear how long Garnacho will be out for, it is expected that he will be on the sidelines for a number of weeks. Discussing his player's injury, Ten Hag said: "So it's a serious injury, didn't expect, but a foul. A serious injury.
"Once again after Christian Eriksen, we have a serious injury after contact. It's not a good decision and it's difficult to make a diagnosis that quickly but I saw him limping and that's why I took him off also because it was my last opportunity to sub him and to bring on as well."
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