Manchester United’s finishing has let Ruben Amorim down in recent weeks with the attacking stars failing to convert their chances despite creating bucketloads of opportunities.
Rasmus Hojlund has rightly taken most of the blame but Alejandro Garnacho has also struggled with the Argentine’s finishing letting his coach down.
His drop-off in form has come at the worst possible time given Amad’s injury and Marcus Rashford and Antony’s January departures. Due to the lack of alternatives, the head coach has had no choice but to keep playing the 20-year-old.
The pair have not always seen eye-to-eye with the Portuguese tactician dropping him for the first Premier League Manchester derby.
Garnacho’s drop-off in form
The Carrington graduate did work hard both on and off the pitch to win over his new boss but rumours over a potential exit have refused to die down.
Before Thursday’s season-defining Europa League quarter-final against Olympique Lyonnais, Nicolas Tagliafico has begun to stir up the pot, attempting to create unrest in the United dressing room.
The Argentina international, who is an international teammate of the United No 17, claimed Amorim has not supported the versatile winger as much as the player would have liked.
He also claimed that Garnacho’s teammates have also not helped with the pressures of playing for the Red Devils slowly evaporating the 20-year-old’s confidence.
“I saw good qualities when he first stepped into the team but with a new coach and different styles, he has maybe lost a bit of confidence. When you miss this as a winger and at club like United, it’s not easy.
Tagliafico blames Amorim
“I know he has had some difficult moments under the coach but maybe he needs more support on the pitch,” the left-back told The Daily Mail.
“Sometimes it is more about communication. When a winger plays in front of me, I like to talk to him. Encourage him to take on one v one more or say when to tuck in. He is still very young. Maybe that’s what he needs more at United. But he is very fast, he has talent. For sure he can be a star.”
The defender is not the first player to create waves before the game with Nemanja Matic and Andre Onana’s war of words already dominating headlines.
The United players will be aware of the mind games and hopefully, they can do the talking on the pitch when they step out onto the Parc Olympique Lyonnais turf on Thursday night.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
