Roy Keane has heaped praise on Alejandro Garnacho, believing the Manchester United winger will “cause problems” following his goal against Manchester City in the Community Shield on Saturday.
The 20-year-old started the game on the bench, with Marcus Rashford being preferred for the left wing instead.
However, with United wanting to win the showdown, Erik ten Hag decided to substitute Garnacho about half an hour before the end of the game.
The Argentine international took his chance immediately and scored a goal in the 82nd minute that caused wild celebrations in the red half of Wembley.
Roy Keane has given his verdict on Man Utd after their Community Shield defeat to Man City
ITV
City later won the game 7-6 on penalties, with Bernardo Silva’s last-minute header forcing the dreaded shoot-out.
Keane is notoriously difficult to please, but speaking to ITV he had high praise for Garnacho.
“When you’re a defender, you don’t want to cover him,” he said. “Because you know he’s going to cause problems.”
He also said: “(Garnacho does) what all really good players do. The really, really good players influence the game. And every time he’s on the pitch, he influences it.”
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“Now when he comes on the field, I kind of expect that from him. You know he’s going to achieve something.”
Many United fans went into the game against City unsure of what to expect.
They performed well in the FA Cup final win against the same opponents in May and also impressed in the Community Shield.
Keane, however, is concerned about United and believes their constant injury problems could ruin the club’s chances of a successful season.
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“Manchester United’s squad is quite strong, but the problem is that there are a lot of injuries,” said Keane.
“If they keep most of the players fit, I would be quite optimistic about the start of the season. If you were Erik ten Hag, you would be optimistic based on these facts.”
“In the end they just weren’t strong enough and they’ll need a bit more grit to avoid conceding late goals like today.”
United head coach Ten Hag, meanwhile, urged his players to use the pain of defeat as motivation for the rest of the season.
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Roy Keane has praised Alejandro Garnacho after his goal for Man Utd against Man City on Saturday
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“You have to feel the pain,” he said.
“You have to draw strength from that to have a successful season, but you also have to take the positives that we can bring against a very good team when we put pressure on the ball, and we can outplay a team that presses very well.”
“I was very satisfied. After half an hour we were very competitive and we came into the fight and we were passionate in the fight and that’s what we ask of our players.
“It was very good and we can take that into next week (against Fulham).”
Roy Keane believes Erik ten Hag will be pleased with Man Utd’s performance in their Community Shield defeat to Man City.
REUTERS
As for Pep Guardiola, the City boss was happy with the result.
“I enjoyed the season opener against our rivals in Manchester – and winning a title is good. We are really happy. We could have lost today,” he said.
“We were close to losing a few minutes before the end. I saw a lot of things today that I liked. The first 35 minutes were more than excellent. Many players are still on holiday, so we are still far from our best form. But it is better to start with a cup win.”
