Facundo Pellistri is determined to seize his chance and prove he belongs at Manchester United.
The 21-year-old winger was handed his first start by United boss by Erik ten Hag in Thursday’s 1-0 Europa League last 16 win at Real Betis. Pellistri’s first start came 893 days after he signed for United, following two loan spells at Spanish side Alaves.
But now he has made his first start, the Uruguay international - who started for his country at the World Cup - is hungry for more. “The manager really trusts me, so I felt that confidence from him,” said Pellistri. “He told me to run in behind, to get the ball and enjoy the moment.
“Hopefully it's the start of this. Of course I'm hungry. A lot of players in the group are really hungry, we have one amazing group. We all push to the same side. Hopefully, at the end of the season, we can win a lot of trophies.
“Being in a club like Manchester United, you always want to be here. So now I'm focused on helping the team to win more trophies this season.”
Injury to 18-year-old winger Alejandro Garnacho means there are likely to be more opportunities for Pellistri to prove himself at United in the coming weeks. “Every player, we are ready to play,” said Pellistri. “We are in a very good, good team, one of the biggest in the world. So you have to be ready.
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“This is football and, unluckily, Alejandro had this injury and the same happened to me some weeks before. So we have to be ready because you never know when is your chance. We are in such a big club that we have to be ready.”
Pellistri will be involved in tomorrow’s FA Cup quarter-final at home to Fulham and said United are hungry to add another trophy to their Carabao Cup success. "We want to win everything, as the song that the fans sing,” said Pellistri.
“We want to win everything, that’s why we prepare and we train hard. We want to win every game and every trophy we are in.”
