Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes drew entirely different conclusions over the performances of teenage pair Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho after the Red Devils cruised past Everton. Sunday’s 3-0 victory over the Toffees was a fantastic advert for the United academy, with Mainoo excelling on his full Premier League debut while Garnacho scored a wondergoal.
Mainoo started in midfield alongside fellow academy graduate Scott McTominay. The 18-year-old’s development was stalled by a pre-season injury, but at full fitness he was excellent at Goodison Park.
Garnacho’s incredible bicycle kick gave Erik ten Hag’s side the lead. Marcus Rashford – another player who has come through the ranks at Old Trafford – scored a penalty before Anthony Martial rounded off a confident display.
But midfielder Fernandes spoke in contrasting tones about the performances of United’s two young stars. The Portugal star has previously been keen to keep Garnacho’s feet on the floor, and did so again when conducting his media duties on Sunday evening.
“I’ll give him a good note just for the goal. But that’s because he knows I have big expectations for him,” Fernandes said.
“He’s not a great player yet, but he has a big future ahead. We expect a lot from him. He knows that, even more from me. I’ll always be behind him asking for more. Amazing goal though.”
Handed the Man of the Match award by Sky Sports to pass to Garnacho, Fernandes brutally quipped: “I don’t think he deserves [it], but okay.”
That was far dissimilar to how Fernandes spoke about Mainoo’s full debut. The 29-year-old felt that the youngster deserved to be credited with being the game’s best player, instead of Garnacho.
“Great game. For me, man of the match. A great performance and secure on the ball and never puts a foot wrong.
“He is always ready to help, for his age he has too much quality. He sees the play before and did so many good things today he was secure on the ball.”
There appears to be a conscious effort at United to prevent Garnacho from getting ahead of himself. The Argentina international initially took a while to win the trust of Ten Hag, with Fernandes publicly criticising his training performances.
Speaking after Garnacho scored the only goal in a decisive European win over Real Sociedad, Fernandes said: “He was good but he knows we expect a lot from him. Obviously, he’s still really young, he’s doing really well.
“At the beginning of the season, he was not at his best. In the tour, he didn’t have the best attitude that he should have, and that’s why he didn’t get his chances until now.”
