Owen Hargreaves has compared Anthony Elanga's breakthrough season as a Manchester United player to that of club-record goalscorer Wayne Rooney.
Hargreaves made the claim after watching Elanga score his first-ever Champions League goal to help United secure a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid in the first-leg of their last-16 showdown at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday night.
Having trailed since Joao Felix's seventh-minute header, United got themselves back on level terms with just 10 minutes to play when Elanga, fresh from the bench, latched onto Bruno Fernandes' pass and cooly slotted the ball beyond the onrushing Jan Oblak.
It was a composed finish from the 19-year-old and was one that could prove to be a pivotal strike in United's season.
Hailing the impact he made after replacing Marcus Rashford just five minutes before he found the back of the net, Hargreaves compared Elanga's impact at United this season to that of Rooney when he burst onto the scene at Old Trafford.
"I think Elanga is playing with absolutely no fear," Hargreaves told BT Sport. "I remember Wazza [Wayne Rooney] when he first burst onto the scene, he was like a tornado – he was unplayable. Then you start to learn and understand the circumstances.
"Elanga is playing with no fear and I think Marcus [Rashford] is, rather than instinctively reacting and running in behind and making things happen, I think he's just thinking the game a little bit more.
"But to be fair, everybody struggled offensively for United. They didn't really create any chances, no shots on target in the first-half, no touches in the opposition box, so everybody offensively had a role in the way that game panned out in the first-half."
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