Alejandro Garnacho’s perfect moment vs Bode/Glimt had Ruben Amorim applauding, it wasn’t his goal

Alejandro Garnacho had a perfect moment against Bode/Glimt which had Ruben Amorim applauding, and it wasn’t his goal.

Ruben Amorim secured his first win as Manchester United head coach with a thrilling victory over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

Making his debut at Old Trafford, Amorim saw Alejandro Garnacho score just 60 seconds into the match, capitalizing on excellent pressing from Rasmus Højlund.

The visitors responded with two quick goals, taking the lead by the 25th minute. However, Højlund levelled the score just before halftime with a superb control and finish.

United regained the advantage in the second half as Højlund netted his second goal of the night, finishing off a slick move involving Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte, who provided the decisive assist.

Bodo/Glimt fought hard for an equalizer, but André Onana’s outstanding saves in the final minutes preserved United’s second Europa League win of the campaign.

How Garnacho pleased Amorim

Garnacho opened the scoring in the game to net his eighth of the campaign so far. He played the entire 90 minutes after also starting Amorim’s first game.

The Argentine has operated in the front three on both occasions despite seeming like he may have suited the wingback role as he would still attack from the flank.

Instead, the 20-year-old has been coming inside a lot more than he did under Erik ten Hag, and the decision may partly have been down to the difficulties of learning the defensive responsibility of the role.

“We should start with full backs [as the wingbacks], because to teach a winger to defend is harder,” the head coach said last week.

And when Garnacho managed to put in a crucial slide tackle in his own box mid-way through the second half on Thursday night, which stopped a dangerous chance, Amorim was extremely happy with the attacker.

Journalist Simon Peach pointed out that Amorim applauded Garnacho after his hard defensive work in that moment, which shows just how much he places on work-rate.

It was a perfect example of what Amorim wants his side to become and that will certainly help stop United conceding so many goals like they did on the evening.

Defensive transitions still need to improve

While Garnacho never stopped running, the United team have not been great at defending transitions in recent years and it continued on Thursday night.

Both of the visitor’s goals came from fast breaks and it is something that Amorim has already highlighted and wants to improve.

There are clear steps towards the idea that Amorim is talking about and this will be something the head coach keeps working on.

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