New Chelsea signing Alejandro Garnacho was perhaps hoping for a warmer reception on his return to Old Trafford.
The Argentine winger is a youth product of MUFC who rose to prominence during Erik ten Hag’s time at the club, but he struggled to fit into Ruben Amorim’s system. Moreover, Garnacho’s demeanour hardly impressed the Portuguese manager who had dropped him from the matchday squad in mid-December before reinstating him.
The two men shared a frosty relationship, which eventually reached a head in the final of the Europa League, when Amorim kept the 21-year-old on the bench for 71 minutes, prompting a fiery post-match interview from the player.
Alejandro Garnacho starts on the bench in Man United vs Chelsea clash
While the writing had been on the wall for quite some time, Chelsea waited until late August to purchase the youngster from Man Utd.
This evening, the winger made his first appearance at Old Trafford as a foe for the Red Devils. While Enzo Maresca had hinted that Garnacho could be in the starting lineup, he eventually decided to keep the player on the bench.
And yet, the United faithful weren’t willing to spare their former pupil while spotting him warming up with the Chelsea substitutes.
Garnacho booed on his Old Trafford return
As revealed by the Manchester Evening News senior journalist, Samuel Luckhurst, the Man Utd supporters at OT were heard booing the winger.
Audible boos for Garnacho as he comes out for the warm-up. #mufc
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) September 20, 2025
Luckhurst noted that Man United fans jeering a former player is considered a ‘rare’ occurrence, but Garnacho isn’t the first Argentinian to receive such treatment, as his compatriots Carlos Tevez, Angel Di Maria and Gabriel Heinze had all suffered the same fate.
United have started the match on the right foot, with Robert Sanchez sent off in the fifth minute after preventing Bryan Mbeumo from heading towards the goal. A few minutes later, Bruno Fernandes latched onto a header from Patrick Dorgu to give the home side the lead, while Casemiro’s close-range header made it 2-0 in the 37th minute.
