Mason Mount earned high praise from Erik ten Hag after making his injury return for Manchester United in the Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace.
The Dutch manager handed Mount 45 minutes in the 3-0 win at Old Trafford before a pre-planned substituton at half time.
His return was a timely one given both Scott McTominay and Christian Eriksen missed Tuesday’s game due to illness, leaving them as doubts for Palace’s next visit to Manchester, which comes this weekend in the Premier League.
“[Mount’s] returning from an injury and we have to build this up,” Ten Hag said of his early exit from the match.
“And when we go too quickly, you get the drop. And we want to avoid that. And I think his performance was very good.”
Mount impressed by setting up Casemiro’s header to make it 2-0 from a first-half corner, while Ten Hag also noted his role in the opening goal after a crossfield ball found Diogo Dalot in the lead-up to Alejandro Garnacho slotting home.
GARNACHO! 💫
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) September 26, 2023
"Manchester United's early dominance has paid off!" 🔴 pic.twitter.com/4pDrgJzMrL
“I think it was probably two assists because it was a pre-assist for the first goal,” he added.
“That was also the foundation for that goal. I think he played very good, as we can expect from Mason Mount.”