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Manchester United cruised to a 7-0 victory over Barnsley to book their place in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.
Despite an energetic start by the visitors, Man United quickly found their groove, overwhelming the underdogs with their constant attacking pressure.
United unleashed a whopping 26 shots, compared to just three attempts on goal by their League One opponents.
One player who was crucial to United’s ruthless attacking lineup on the night was Alejandro Garnacho.
From early on, the winger showed his attacking drive, albeit struggling to find his momentum. While he showed creativity by attempting to thread an opportunistic through ball to Christian Eriksen, a defender’s leg stood in the way of his innovative play.
Moments later, Garnacho sprinted into the box, finding himself in a prime goalscoring position. Instead of shooting, however, Garnacho delivered a misplaced pass to Rashford, handing Barnsley a goal kick.
Still, Garnacho’s successes on the night far outweighed his errors. The Argentine assisted Rashford’s 16th-minute opener before finding the back of the net himself on the stroke of halftime. This time, Rashford returned the favour, sending a through ball to Garnacho, who beat two defender and slotted the ball past the keeper to hand United a 3-0 lead going into the break.
Four minutes into the second half, Garnacho struck again. After receiving a Christian Eriksen through ball near the halfway line, Garnacho surged upfield, racing into the box and comfortably burying the ball into the back of the net.
With five shots, Garnacho was one of United’s most influential attackers on the night. Two of his shots were on target, one was off target, and two more were blocked. He missed one big chance, namely a close-range effort that he ballooned over the top, thereby missing out on a hat-trick.
Interestingly, Garnacho did feature in defence as well, making a clearance as well as an interception.
His midfield game was also strong, with 28 of 34 passes reaching their target for an 82% accuracy. All three of his long balls found their target, while he also made three key passes, proving himself as a playmaker as well as a goalscorer.
Faced with no ground duels, Garnacho only managed to win one of three aerial duels. However, headers have never been his strong suit.
Although Garnacho showed some lapses of concentration as well as some poor decision-making on occasion, he emerged as one of United’s best players throughout the match, exhibiting a keen eye for goal, creative playmaking, and plenty of energy and determination.
Should Garnacho manage to continue his current form, Erik ten Hag may have a hard time excluding him from future lineups.
(Stats via Sofascore)
Feature image Paul Ellis via Getty Images
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