Erik ten Hag agrees with Owen Hargreaves assessment of one Man United player after 4-1 win vs Real Betis

Erik ten Hag agreed with Owen Hargreaves’ assessment of Facundo Pellistri after his cameo in Manchester United’s 4-1 win against Real Betis at Old Trafford.

The Reds were convincing victors in the first leg of their round of 16 clash against the Spanish opposition in the Europa League.

Goals from Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst secured the victory for Ten Hag’s men, with The Reds placing one foot in the quarter-finals ahead of their trip to Sevilla next week.

One player who made a positive impression was young Faundo Pellistri. The 21-year-old was brought on for Antony after 81 minutes. It took him less than 20 seconds to pick up the ball, take on his man and put a low cross into the box which eventually ended in United’s fourth goal.

It was Pellistri’s fifth appearance for the club after finally making his debut in January after joining the club in 2020. He’s impressed in most of those appearances.

Owen Hargreaves, former United midfielder, was full of praise for the winger who offers different attributes to the other wingers at Old Trafford.

“I was amazed at how quick he was,” explained Hargreaves on BT Sport. “You see a lot of the guys like Jadon [Sancho] and Antony, they like to dribble, slow down and come inside – he doesn’t want any of that, he’s just getting on the outside, old school, just sprinting past people.

“And it was good to see because when he does that, I think the centre forwards know when the ball is going to come, whereas, with the other wingers, they take a lot of touches.

“It was a brilliant cameo, I think United fans would love to see a little bit more of him.”

With Antony still showing levels of inconsistencies and Ten Hag’s preference to play Sancho from the left, Pellistri could be awarded more minutes as the season progresses.

Ten Hag agreed with the assessment of the Uruguay international, praising the moment that led to Weghorst’s second goal in United colours.

“I think the subs made a good impact,” proclaimed Ten Hag. “Aaron [Wan-Bissaka], Jadon [Sancho] and Ty [Malacia] and then you see when we bring the last two subs on, we make it 4-1 straight away. A great action from Pelli[stri], then finished by Scott [McTominay] and the rebound is for Wout [Weghorst].”

Speaking more on the winger, Ten Hag added: “He deserves it. He shows it in training that he deserves playing time. That’s how it works. That’s what I expect from my players who are not not in the starting XI. He came in and made an impact.”