Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag challenges Alejandro Garnacho and discusses new European Super League proposals | Football News

Erik ten Hag has set a challenge for youngster Alejandro Garnacho – to score more goals – and believes that emotion on the pitch is a strength.

Manchester United face Leeds for the second time in five days when they meet at Elland Road on Super Sunday, live Sky Sports.

Garnacho, 18, has appeared in Man Utd’s last 10 Premier League games either side of the World Cup, playing 59 minutes on Wednesday evening.

While the striker was impressed with his performance, Ten Hag wanted the striker to add more goals and assists in the game.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, the Man Utd boss said: “He had an impact, it was good. He did well and created chances [against Leeds] but must count.

“As a striker, you have to be on the scoring list and the assist list, the key action list, to have a real impact. We expect him to do other things as well, but this is the basis. If you don’t do it extra, you have to do it as a function basic.

“As a Man Utd player, we expect you to have an impact on scores, results and have a positive impact on the game.”

At times, Garnacho was frustrated when he was substituted, against Leeds and before that against Crystal Palace.

But Ten Hag isn’t concerned about potential problems with teenage attitudes.

“I don’t think I understand the decision,” he said. “He’s quite emotional, that’s the power. He wants to win, he wants to play football and he doesn’t want to miss a minute and I think that’s really good.

“He’s very confident in himself and that’s a good thing. The biggest stress factor you have is doing it and him. He wanted to contribute until the end, but we accepted the decision.

“The team is always above everything and they know it. When they go out, their emotions and frustrations don’t fight – that’s why they don’t accept it.”

Ten Hag in the new ESL proposals: The decision is up to the club

On Thursday, the prospect of the European Super League resurfaced with a new proposed plan.

Manchester United is one of the controversial teams in 2021. They were named as part of a European league that split with 12 teams, but quickly withdrew from the project two days later.

When asked about the new proposal, Ten Hag said he has no time to look into it – instead focusing on the team he needs to manage – and will let others at Man Utd weigh up his options.

“I understand the dynamic and what’s going on, but if he has a new idea, I have to look at it and I’ll give my opinion.

“I don’t know because we play a lot of games, we have to develop this team, we have some problems with new players to bring in, so that’s my focus. I need all my energy.

“People at the club will look at it and tell us that it’s time and when it’s time, we have to make a decision, but it depends on the club.

“Now [Champions League] good structure, but I always have the initiative to make it better, to make more football. Such is life. People always want to build something better, which is good. If you like football, that’s fine.”

Garnacho: What are the statistics?

Sky Sports’ Adam Smith:

Garnacho has made four assists and two goals in eight appearances in all first-team club competitions this season – the equivalent of a goal involvement every 137 minutes.

The radar below compares the stats of each of the 90 forwards against all wingers in Europe’s top leagues this season and reveals their key strengths including goal scoring, ball handling, shots on target and distribution in the final third.

The chart below compares the Argentine with every U21 player in Europe’s top league having clocked more than 200 league minutes this season and his position as the most active attacker in the opposition box – while only four players have a better assist ratio.

Indeed, 18-year-old ranks in the top five among them entire Premier League players to assist, touch the opposition and try to dribble every 90 minutes this season.

Of course, limited game time can skew the numbers, but the Argentine has certainly been effective in his chances of getting his Premier League team-mates so far – with both sides producing goals.

The shot map below shows how he prefers to fire from the left-centre area, inside the opposition box – between the six and 18 meter lines.

The winger mainly operates on the left side, in the middle in the opposition half, and has an impressive passing accuracy – driven by a tendency to try shorter passes, often slanting for give-and-gos or back-and-forth.