It was fascinating to watch Alejandro Garnacho and Erik ten Hag when the youngster was substituted in the second half of Manchester United’s game against Coventry City.
Garnacho was replaced by Antony in the 66th minute of the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley when United were 3-0 up and his name was sung by fans as he left the pitch. Ten Hag clasped hands with Garnacho and although the exchange didn’t exude warmth, it suggested they had buried the hatchet after the 19-year-old had liked tweets questioning his removal in the draw against Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Just five minutes after Garnacho was substituted, Coventry were given a glimmer of hope of a late comeback when Ellis Simms scored with a well-taken half-volley. Kobbie Mainoo was substituted for Christian Eriksen and a full-blown capitulation followed, with Coventry coming close to winning the game 4-3 in the last seconds of extra time.
Ten Hag deserved praise in the first half for his involvement in the opening goal – he gave tactical instructions to Diogo Dalot who provided the assist for Scott McTominay – but the best and worst of his in-game management was seen in an unforgivable performance. The substitutions of Garnacho and Mainno didn’t work, United looked weaker for their removal and, with the benefit of hindsight, they shouldn’t have been hooked.
Both are young players and have featured heavily over the last few months, but the chances of a collapse would have been slimmer if they’d stayed on due to their quality. Antony is not as robust as Garnacho and Eriksen is lightweight compared to Mainoo. The changes swung momentum into Coventry’s favour and were inadvisable.
Garnacho was substituted for a fifth game in a row. (Image: 2024 AMA Sports Photo Agency)
Across the last month, Garnacho has been substituted with United winning 3-2 against Chelsea, 2-1 against Liverpool and 3-0 against Coventry, which hasn’t gone unnoticed. Garnacho’s load needs to be managed considering he’s played close to 3,000 minutes this season, but the evidence suggests his substitutions have been detrimental.
While it could be argued that United throwing away leads from advantageous positions when Garnacho is substituted is coincidental, it’s happened too often to ignore. The youngster has contributed nine goals and four assists this season, however, the work he completes off the ball is crucial and he provides cover on the right side.
The Argentina international has quietly become a mainstay in the starting team this season and most would have him in contention for the Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year award. And yet Marcus Rashford, who is certainly not in that conversation, was substituted deep into injury time against Coventry, meaning he played 30 minutes more than Garnacho.
It’s understandable for Garnacho to wonder why he was hooked before Rashford and Ten Hag’s in-game management, which was a strength last season, must be questioned. The manager is not having the same positive impact during games that he was last season.
