Alejandro Garnacho copied Lionel Messi’s goal celebration after he scored a late winner to help Manchester United secure all three points against Fulham.
Alejandro Garnacho was the hero that separated the tie as Manchester United survived Fulham scare to keep up the pressure on top-four contenders.
Christian Eriksen opened the scoring for the Red Devils in the 14th minute before substitute James equalized for the hosts in the 61st minute.
The match nearly ended in a 1-1 draw before Manchester United embarked on a last-minute counter, which saw Alejandro Garnacho pace past Fulham defenders, to slot home Christian Eriksen’s through ball in the 93rd minute.
The Manchester United starlet emulated the legendary Lionel Messi celebration after the stunning last-gasp winner.
Garnacho, 18, came off the bench to earn United the dramatic 2-1 victory, hitting the back of the net in the final seconds of the game.
After the goal, the teenage sensation picked on his fellow Argentine Messi’s goal celebration in 2017 at Santiago Bernabeu.
He took off his shirt and held the side bearing his name in front of the spectators. Lionel Messi did the same in 2017 when he was at FC Barcelona.
Messi led Barca to a dramatic 3-2 victory over rivals Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu with a late winner in the second minute of stoppage time.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner then removed his shirt and defiantly showed the back of it to the home crowd.
Alejandro Garnacho is in a top form for Manchester United
Garnacho is in a top form with the Red Devils after he broke into the first team last month.
The Argentina Under-20 international made his first senior start against Sheriff in the Europa League.
He scored the winner against Real Sociedad in the same competition and also stood out against Aston Villa on Thursday’s EFL Cup clash at Old Trafford.
Garnacho registered two vital assists that helped the Red Devils come from behind with a 4-2 win.
The Argentine became youngest player to score a 90th-minute winner in the Premier League at the age of 18 years and 135 days since ex-United ace Federico Macheda in 2009.
Is Garnacho the next Lionel Messi?
The 18-year-old former Atletico Madrid Academy product is undoubtedly in top shape for the Red Devils, but matching the feat of Lionel Messi may be difficult.
At 18, Lionel Messi was already making waves, playing for one of the biggest clubs in Europe – Barcelona.
Messi had 35 appearances in all competitions, delivering 6 assists and scoring 10 goals at 18.
Undoubtedly, Garnacho may not be far from Lionel Messi’s stats, although he has to break into the Argentina senior national team before turning 19.
But he may be far from stepping into the shoe of the seven times Ballon d’Or winner with his magical skills and creativity with the ball.
Garnacho failed to make Argentina World Cup squad
After Lionel Scaloni announced his 2022 World Cup squad, ‘No Garnacho’ trended on social media, with Argentina fans calling on the starlet to be included in the squad.
Others thought the fear of overtaking Lionel Messi as the next big thing in Argentina must have necessitated the omission.
However, Alejandro Garnacho is yet to break into Argentina’s senior national team, and his lack of enough first-team experience at United must have informed Scaloni’s decision to leave out the youngster.
