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Erik Ten Hag reveals motivational talk from the “fearless” Garnacho.
Erik ten Hag has disclosed the pep talk he gave to “fearless” winger Alejandro Garnacho before Manchester United faced West Ham in the FA Cup.
As Said Benrahma scored the game’s first goal at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, the Red Devils fell behind 1-0 in the fifth-round match.
Prior to Garnacho and Fred scoring in the dying seconds of the game to send Ten Hag’s team through to the round of eight, United had taken the lead with an own goal from Nayef Aguerd.
The United manager took Garnacho aside before the game to give him some motivational words, and he was quite happy with the player’s performance.
“I see today another step. ‘I said to him before the game, ‘it’s time. You have an impact when you come on but now you have to have an impact as a starter’. And I think he is capable of it, so that is the next step he has to make,” Ten Hag told reporters.
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“It is a great skill when you’re fearless, when you’re brave. I don’t think that it’s a skill that is so specific, there are not so many players in world football who can take players on, who can just out-dribble them and that skill he has. But he has more skills than only that, for example, finishing. But also I see he has a big engine, he is fast, he has speed, he can keep running for 90 minutes, for 120 minutes, it doesn’t matter how long, he can do it.”
After United’s Carabao Cup victory on Sunday, the Dutch tactician acknowledged that it was difficult to pay attention to the game, but he praised his team for putting up a polished performance.
“After Sunday, it is never easy after a cup celebration and of course you have to get back to business as usual. That was our task, we did it and found a way to win. Our resilience. It was magnificent and great from the team,” Ten Hag added to ITV.
In what has been a breakout season for the 18-year-old Argentinian, Garnacho has five goals and six assists this season for Manchester United.
When Manchester United and Liverpool square off in the Premier League on Sunday, the youngster will be hoping to score once again.