It was an emotionally charged game on Sunday afternoon at Elland Road. Manchester United were forced to wait until later in the first half before they were able to find the back of the net against an aggressive Leeds United.
The Whites built on their midweek draw at Old Trafford until the 83rd minute, when Marcus Rashford headed in Luke Shaw's brilliant cross into the hosts' corner of the net to break their spirit.
Two minutes later, a goal-hungry Alejandro Gernacho put the game beyond doubt as he latched onto Wout Weghorst's through pass, beat his marker with his pace, and unleashed a powerful shot beyond Leeds United goalkeeper Ilan's reach.
This broke the hosts' spirit as Manchester United went on to claim the win and get into the title race. Erik Ten Hag was happy with the victory and hailed Marcus Rashford and teenager Alejandro Gernacho for their impact on the game.
Alejandro Garnacho was frustrated after failing to find the back of the net on Wednesday against Leeds United. However, Erik Ten Hag encouraged the 18-year-old, and it appears the young Argentine was motivated by the manager's backing. Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to score, giving Manchester United a two-goal lead and banishing his Wednesday demons.
Erik Ten Hag was delighted with the young Argentine and praised him during his interview after the game. "Yeah, but that's normal [to improve]. He is a young player; he has a lot to learn, and we have seen that on Wednesday he was making great action but not finishing. "I think he had to finish in those moments and has to do something, once again, with focus and the right preparation,"
"Today, it was the same." "The first minutes of the game, he was not straight in, but you have to be ready, and after 1-0, he came better in, and, then, you see he has great skills with his dribbles, with his pace, with his timing to run in behind and then a great finish," he told MUTV.
The manager had some good words for Marcus Rashford, who opened the scoring for Manchester United. The former academy graduate is one goal shy of matching his best tally (22) in a Manchester United shirt. His goal on Sunday afternoon makes it 21 across all competitions with six more assists.
"He is definitely one of them,” Ten Hag replied when asked if Marcus was among the best forwards in Europe during his post-match press conference.
“I was convinced [by him] from the first moment. I was really excited to work with him. I thought I could get more out of him.
“He has so many skills, such high potential, and I think that can be even more. When he works well, he will score even more goals because he can score with his right, his left, and with his head.”
“If you are satisfied with it [scoring goals], it will stop, because you have to keep investing every day, keep the focus in every game and bring the energy and the belief, then you will score."
“I don’t know where it will stop, but he has to go from game to game and during the week, do the right things," Erik Ten Hag explained.
"I was saying to him, 'What a strike!' It is what he is aiming for in every game. "I told him at the start of the season that in every game you will come into a position to score a goal and you have the capabilities to score," the manager said.
"So it's keeping that focus over 90 or 95 minutes." If you do that, you'll see that he can score with his left, right, and head."
"He is a great striker, in my opinion." When he makes his good movements, with this team, he will always get into some scoring positions, and then it is about finishing. He has the capabilities, the physical and technical skills to finish, but he also has the physical capabilities to run there, to move there with the speed. "He has athleticism, also the ability to jump, and then it is about mentality—keeping the focus and the belief that he will score," the manager explained.
The Red Devils will be looking to take their fantastic form to the Spotify Nou Camp stadium when they face off with FC Barcelona in the first leg of the Europa League knockout phase.
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