Manchester United’s toothless attack has been a problem throughout the season, and it was no different in their 1-1 draw against Chelsea on Sunday (November 3). Interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy started Alejandro Garnacho alongside Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford in the forward line.
Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring for the Reds from the penalty spot in the 70th minute after Robert Sanchez brought Hojlund down in the box. The lead lasted just four minutes, though, as Moises Caicedo struck a superb volley to equalise.
Garnacho is one of the Red Devils’ most exciting attacking talents, but there are issues with his end product. This was displayed at Old Trafford against the Blues as he spurned four opportunities to give his side all three points. One saw the seven-cap Argentina international race towards goal but failed to find the top corner of Sanchez’s goal.
Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst pointed out that Garnacho struggled against Malo Gusto. He lambasted the youngster’s wastefulness and suggested it was his worst showing this season, with a low rating of 4:
A physical mismatch against Malo Gusto in possibly his weakest performance of the season. Had three good goalscoring openings and underhit them all.
Garnacho, 20, has enjoyed a meteoric rise at Old Trafford, and his development was one of the few positives to occur by the end of Erik ten Hag’s reign. He’s played with hunger and desire on both flanks, registering six goals and four assists in 16 games across competitions this season.
Yet, there are growing concerns over the ex-Atletico Madrid academy star’s potency in front of goal, which could complicate matters for the Argentine. Incoming new United manager Ruben Amorim deploys a 3-4-3 formation and likes his wingers to tuck inside and link up well with the central striker.
Garnacho and Hojlund have failed to spark a good connection up top, and this was no more apparent against Chelsea. There were several times when the Argentine wanted the ball played out wide, but the Dane took too long with it.
Amad entered the fray late on and is perhaps the more creative of the pair, looking to find his man with intricate passes. This might be the profile of a winger that Amorim takes to accommodate a target man like Hojlund.
All statistics courtesy of SofaScore as of 03/11/2024.