When the fourth official's electronic board was raised in the 62nd minute, as Manchester United searched to break the deadlock against West Ham on Saturday afternoon, Anthony Elanga received a rousing standing ovation as he left the pitch.
That was no surprise considering the Stretford End had sung his name to the melody of 1992 smash hit 'Rhythm is a Dancer' earlier in that match.
Elanga had struggled to get into the game but that didn't matter. The youngster was bright against Aston Villa and he built on that performance by scoring United's first goal against Brentford. United had unearthed yet another special talent.
While the neutral might have been taken back by Elanga starting again at Brentford, Ralf Rangnick's decision to persist with the youngster was to be expected by those who have followed his progress throughout United's academy.
The 19-year-old has been ready for consistent first-team football for some time and Rangnick was instantly drawn to him in his first training session.
Elanga plays with the naivety of youth. There is an endearing simplicity about his game. In a world of inverted wingers and No.10s playing down the channels, Elanga is a throwback to the players of decades ago. His willingness to beat a man with his turn of foot and agility make him a unique asset. His directness when on the ball has already made him stand out at United.
It's little wonder that Rangnick has turned to him for some inspiration. Jadon Sancho has flattered to deceive and Marcus Rashford was seemingly out of form, but that was until Elanga's recent performances. It is well known that competition for places is conducive to raising standards and Rashford has scored in United's last two matches after coming off the substitute bench.
Rashford seems to have benefited from Rangnick's preference to start Elanga and his dramatic, late goal against West Ham at the weekend would have done the world of good for his confidence; it was hard not to be delighted for Rashford for that winner.
With Rashford seizing his opportunities so well and Elanga vindicating the faith placed him, Rangnick now has a complicated dilemma to address: which player does he start on the left after the break? With everyone fit, it seems in everyone's best interests if Sancho competes with Mason Greenwood to start on the right, and for Elanga and Rashford to fight for that left-wing position.
That's if Rangnick continues with the 4-3-3 formation, which most of his squad were actually brought to the club to play in, rather than a 4-2-2-2.
Both Elanga and Rashford are products of United's renowned academy and the left-wing dilemma between the pair is a pleasant headache for Rangnick to have; so what will the German consider when making his choice?
When analysing attacking metrics, Rashford will be favoured to Elanga. That's because Rashford has averaged more shots on target, more successful dribbles, more successful attacking actions and more expected assists (xA) per 90 in the Premier League.
Rashford is not only favoured to his fellow academy graduate in those areas, but on some metrics, his output is almost close to double than Elanga's, like on successful dribbles and shots on target per 90, for example, but the dilemma isn't that straight forward.
Rangnick's gegenpressing philosophy has yet to fully arrive in Manchester, which isn't a surprise considering the situation he inherited, but the interim boss still demands a level of intensity and work ethic from his players — an area in which Elanga has excelled.
Although Rashford ranks better than Elanga on some attacking metrics, that superiority is exclusive to going forward. The data shows Elanga has defended better than Rashford this season, which reaffirms the eye test from his recent tireless performances.
Elanga ranks above Rashford on all but one metric, on key defensive parameters and even that is marginal. Elanga has averaged more ball recoveries, more interceptions, fewer ball losses and more successful defensive actions than Rashford per 90.
Elanga currently offers more value in his defensive duties than Rashford does and this could influence Rangnick's team selection in the coming weeks. Both players will be desperate to start United's next match and no doubt all the data points will be considered.
Regardless of which player Rangnick persists with — he could even regularly switch between both — it's a pleasant dilemma to have.
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