Thursday was a night to savour for Manchester United, as they comfortably defeated Europa League rivals Sheriff 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Goals from Diogo Dalot, Marcus Rashford and Cristiano Ronaldo secured the points for Erik ten Hag's side. The headlines were dominated by Ronaldo, who made his first appearance for United since he refused to come on against Tottenham nine days ago.
Yet it was also a special night for Alejandro Garnacho, an 18-year-old winger who made his first start for United. The Argentina youth international played 79 minutes against Sheriff and did enough to earn the admiration of legendary midfielder Paul Scholes.
"This crowd loves entertainment and he provided that tonight," Scholes told BT Sport. "He almost reminded me of a young Cristiano with his skill and taking the ball down with confidence.
"I was impressed with the way he could attack on both feet and the unpredictability. He is an 18-year-old kid and he has a big future at Manchester United."
Owen Hargreaves, another former United player, added: "He was exceptional. The thing I liked about this performance was that he was direct, showed nice pieces of skill and tricks that had a little bit of function, he was just missing a goal or an assist. He was the most effective of all the front players, and I really enjoyed watching him."
What did you make of Alejandro Garnacho's performance on Thursday night? Let us know in the comments below!
Garnacho joined United's academy from Atletico Madrid in October 2020 and has flourished since. He is the club's reigning Young Player of the Year after inspiring them to glory in the FA Youth Cup, scoring twice in the final against Nottingham Forest in May.
And that's not a bad thing for the youngster to do. From a United perspective, the FA Youth Cup is one of the game's biggest trophies. They've lifted it a record 11 times and it helped launch the careers of David Beckham, George Best, Ryan Giggs and other United icons.
Garnacho appeared twice in the Premier League last season and was even called up to Argentina's senior squad in March, although he is yet to make his debut. He's clearly a talented prospect and entertained a packed Old Trafford on Thursday night.
Ten Hag also rates Garnacho and wants him to flourish at United. During a break in play against Sheriff, he called the youngster over to give him some personal instructions. It was a gesture that showed the Dutchman cares about Garnacho's development.
Speaking after United's pre-season friendly against Rayo Vallecano in August, Ten Hag said: "We want to give the young players who deserve a chance the opportunity to play. He [Garnacho] showed himself during pre-season and that's why he played. He played pretty well and his performance was really good."
Garnacho is unlikely to feature at the World Cup and may not play again for United before the tournament starts next month, but he will be an exciting talent to look out for later this season. After all, not many players are described as a "Young Ronaldo" by Scholes.
