Non-stop action. Great goals. Controversies galore. Sensational passes. Unreal drama. European football rarely lacks for talking points after any given weekend of football, but with so much happening it can often be hard to focus on the biggest moments. ESPN India attempts to single out one moment from all the action across Europe's top 5 leagues (league action only) that lit up the weekend.
This weekend, we pick Alejandro Garnacho scoring Manchester United's second goal in their 2-0 win over Leeds.
When Wout Weghorst (an unlikely, but very effective #10) played a ball first time into Alejandro Garnacho's path, you knew it was done. Even at that moment, the ball so far away from goal, the defenders all reasonably well placed, you just knew it.
There was an air of inevitability around the whole thing: Three touches and four seconds later, the ball was clanging off the inside of the near post and into the back of the net.
The first of those touches allowed Garnacho to simply carry the ball in front of him while continuing to accelerate, at a pace so rapid it felt like the chasing Robin Koch was moving backwards. The second let him cut inside, across Koch, and into the box at an angle where he had a clear view of Illan Meslier's goal. With his third, he wrapped his foot around the ball, giving Meslier the eyes, and that was that.
Now, the move itself had started somewhere just inside Manchester United's own half. Fred, given the license to press high, bullied Weston McKennie off the ball, before Weghorst, Garnacho and Fred worked a little quick toe-poke triangle that ended with Weghorst guiding the ball at pace for Garnacho to run on to.
The making of this moment, though, went much further back. All the way back, in fact, to the realization that Alejandro Garnacho had early this season.
'Who can stop me?'
'Only me'
Garnacho had walked into 2022-23 off a high. He'd been sensational in his few cameos for the senior team and he had absolutely starred in United's first FA Youth Cup win in a decade. He knew he was good, and he wasn't afraid to show it.
He was benched, though, for most of the first couple of months of the season (and the whole of pre-season). Attitude problems, said Bruno Fernandes later. Benched and/or relegated to the reserves, Garnacho was staring at a choice -- sulk or buck up.
He chose the latter.
Garnacho responds to Bruno's kick 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/lUKVTzJ6el
- UtdDistrict (@UtdDistrict) February 12, 2023
He doubled down in training, and soon, was making the difference on the pitch. Two assists in the third round of the EFL Cup. A goal in the last game of the Europa League group stage. A late, late winner in the Premier League and a couple of assists in key EPL matches (including setting up the winner in the Manchester derby).
It looked like Garnacho was hitting all the right notes, slowly unlocking his vast potential, when Leeds 1.0 struck.
On February 8, Old Trafford hosted Leeds and proceeded to get hammered by them for the first hour of the game. Garnacho missed a couple of chances, including a one-on-one with Meslier and was dragged off at minute 59. Jadon Sancho replaced him and turned the game around.
Stats: Ronaldo's 500, De Gea's 400, Pedri's 10 and Garnacho's 4
After the match, social media did its thing - heaping negativity on the young Argentine, with United's own fans doing the bulk of the insulting. We normally wouldn't mention this but for the fact that it appeared like Garnacho had clearly seen it all -- a few hate-filled tweets had even been 'liked' by the young man on twitter.
Dropped for the reverse fixture four days later, it was natural to worry for him. How would he take this -- he had handled his manager's (and senior teammates') displeasure brilliantly, but how would he take this setback? It would be unsettling for anyone to have been praised for months, only to be pulled back down and get stomped on the moment something went bad. At 18 however, doing such a public-facing job... phew.
Turns out, he'd do rather well.
Subbed on at 0-0, Manchester United had already taken the lead at an hostile Elland Road (Marcus Rashford, who else, with the opener), when Garnacho decided it was time to put on a show. Leeds United 0 - 2 Manchester United. Game well and truly won.
"Who can stop me?"
As his goal, and his celebration (a hint of Cristiano Ronaldo's 'I'm here, ain't nothing you can do about it' arrogance), showed... he's looking to make sure that the answer to that question won't be "me".