Alejandro Garnacho has sent a heartfelt response to Kobbie Mainoo after Manchester United’s 4-2 victory over Newport County in the FA Cup on Sunday.
United reached the fourth round of the FA Cup after a 2-0 win against Wigan Athletic, with the Red Devils travelling to the Rodney Parade for their recent clash.
Erik ten Hag’s men have now booked their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup, despite suffering a potential scare against League Two side Newport County.
Manchester United were leading 2-0 inside 15 minutes before Graham Coughlan’s men pulled themselves back into the fourth-round FA Cup tie after the break.
Bryn Morris struck in the first half for Newport County before Will Evans drew the scores level at 2-2 only two minutes into the second half.
United bounced back from their setback as Antony and Rasmus Hojlund both scored for the Red Devils to ensure their side’s place in the next round of the FA Cup.
Kobbie Mainoo was widely praised for his performance on the night, with the highly rated United midfielder scoring for the first time for the club’s senior team.
Garnacho and Mainoo exchange messages
Following the FA Cup win over Newport County, Manchester United’s official Instagram account paid tribute to Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
“Youth. Courage. Success,” reads the post.
“From playing for our U18s in the [FA Youth Cup] to representing United in the [FA Cup] for Garna and Kobbie.”
The post featured a photo of Garnacho and Mainoo, who both came through United’s youth academy, playing in the FA Youth Cup and in the FA Cup.
Mainoo shared the post on Instagram Stories and tagged United teammate Garnacho, adding a crossed fingers emoji to his post.
Garnacho posted Mainoo’s post on his Instagram Story, but eagle-eyed United fans spotted his message tucked away behind the social media platform’s interface.
In the bottom-right corner of the post, Garnacho wrote the word “together” and added a crossed fingers emoji and a love heart emoji.
Ten Hag’s reaction to Garnacho’s performance
While Mainoo was showered with praise for his display against Newport County, Garnacho’s performance came under much more scrutiny.
Garnacho was criticised for not passing to his teammates when his side were 2-0 up, with the Red Devils winger instead choosing to shoot and hitting the crossbar.
Ten Hag admitted that he was frustrated United didn’t have a bigger scoreline in the first half and pointed to Garnacho’s decision-making in the final third.
“The first 35 minutes we were very comfortable leading,” he said.
“Leading 2-0 but it should have been 3-0 or 4-0. They [Newport] created no chance, then out of nothing – there was also a foul – they score.
“Straight after half-time we make a mistake during defensive transition – not great. Then you have to start again to win this game but then we did, boys, well done.
“We controlled the game but then maybe we went a bit slower, but then we had chances for 3-0 with Garnacho [hitting] the crossbar with two players across the goal and then Antony had some chances.
“They [Newport] had nothing, but then they score a goal.”