As Manchester United went in search of a spark to drag themselves back into the FA Cup final, Alejandro Garnacho was the most likely to engineer one.
Fresh from stepping off the bench just past the hour mark, the Argentine injected fresh energy and confidence into United's play as they attempted to pick at Manchester City's defensive lock. Having already recovered from one Ilkay Gundogan goal, the United supporters who had filled the sun-drenched east end of Wembley were dreaming of the same happening again.
Garnacho, who had replaced Christian Eriksen after 62 minutes, just 11 minutes after Gundogan had put City in front for a second time, looked the most likely candidate to make something happen. Hogging the left-hand side of the pitch, United tried to get the ball into his feet as often as they could.
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Every time the ball did find its way to the feet of the Argentinian teenager, you anticipated that something would happen. Even in the midst of the pressure that comes with an FA Cup final, Garnacho performed as though he was having a kickabout down the local park with his mates on a summer's evening.
Though he was unable to drag United back into the contest and derail City's hopes of clinching an incredible treble, it was a 30-plus minute cameo performance that did his reputation no harm at all. He offered more in the latter stages of the contest than Jadon Sancho did in 78 minutes.
As well as attempting to craft opportunities for his teammates, who flooded City's penalty area as the minutes ticked away, Garnacho also went agonisingly close to bringing United level for a second time himself with just over a quarter of an hour of regulation time left on the clock. He cut inside off the left and curled a right-footed effort just past Stefan Ortega's left-hand post. It was inches away from finding the back of the net.
Every time he got the ball he got United's fans out of their seats, just as he so often has throughout this season. Starting on a bench that was devoid of star-studded quality, Garnacho, despite his youthfulness, was the Reds' biggest available game-changer. He has an aura about him that means he can create something out of nothing in the blink of an eye.
He has developed a reputation for being an impact player this season, capable of stepping off the bench late on in games and either completing a rescue mission or putting an opponent to the sword. For example, all five of his direct goal contributions (three goals and two assists) in the Premier League this season arrived when he had stepped off the bench.
Garnacho, before too long, will have ambitions of becoming a regular starter for United. But considering he has Marcus Rashford to challenge for a starting berth on the left wing, particularly if the club manages to recruit the elite-level striker it's crying out for this summer, he is going to have his work cut out to become a frequent starter as soon as next season.
But his upward trajectory, coupled with Sancho's ongoing struggles, means that he should almost certainly be second in the pecking order for the left wing at the very least next season. Garnacho has been everything that Sancho has not this season, proving exciting, vibrant, creative and energetic.
His cameo performance at Wembley caught the eye in more ways than one, so much so that United's fans are probably waking up this morning subdued by the fact they won't be seeing him don a Reds shirt again until July. That will mark the beginning of pre-season and chapter two of the Ten Hag era.
Though United have a lot of work to do to get themselves ready for their second season under the Dutchman's stewardship, they will head into it with the knowledge that they already have one of the brightest prospects in the game within their armoury.
Garnacho gave City plenty to think about in just over half an hour at Wembley and he will now be hoping to replicate that impact week in, week out next season from the start of matches. He is a star in the making and United's supporters must be counting down the days before they will see him again.
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