Kobbie Mainoo praises Man United starlet after key moment during Rangers win

Kobbie Mainoo has praised a fellow Manchester United starlet after a key moment during the friendly win over Rangers on Saturday.

Erik ten Hag decided to give Leny Yoro his unofficial debut for United in their second pre-season match against the Scottish outfit.

United appeared much more positive compared to their opening summer fixture against Rosenborg, with notable performances from Jadon Sancho, Toby Collyer, and Amad Diallo.

After thirty minutes, Amad opened the scoring against his former club. He cut inside from the right-wing byline, beat his defender, and fired a powerful left-footed shot past Jack Butland into the bottom left corner.

In the second half, Ten Hag made changes to all 10 outfield players, with André Onana the only player not to be replaced.

The second half started slowly but gained momentum when Joe Hugill scored United’s second goal after 70 minutes.

It was an empathic finish from the young striker, who smashed the ball from the edge of the area into the back of the net, via the crossbar.

Hugill, who has spent time on loan in the past year, took to Instagram after the game with a simple caption, “Bar and in”.

Mainoo was quick to congratulate his fellow academy star in the comments, writing ‘Finishhh’.

The likes of Ethan Wheatley, Dan Gore and Harry Amass also sent similar messages to the former Sunderland player.

Hugill will likely be heading for another loan exit this season, with the likes of Joshua Zirkzee, Rasmus Højlund and Wheatley ahead of him in the pecking order upfront.

Ten Hag’s touring squad to the United States is expected to be announced in the coming days, with their next friendly coming against Arsenal in Los Angeles on Sunday.

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Thursday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.