Alejandro Garnacho takes surprise swipe at Man Utd with dig at win | Football | Sport

Alejandro Garnacho has aimed a dig at Manchester United before Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal on Tuesday evening. Garnacho departed United for Stamford Bridge during the summer in a transfer valued at approximately £40million.

He has netted six goals for the Blues, providing a further three assists, across 26 appearances after becoming one of United’s biggest sales. The 21-year-old left United following a breakdown in his relationship under Ruben Amorim.

The connection between the two became beyond repair at last season’s conclusion when Garnacho challenged the Portuguese manager’s decision to drop him for the Europa League final loss to Tottenham.

Following his placement in a so-called ‘bomb squad’ by Amorim and subsequent sale to Chelsea, Garnacho has displayed flashes of brilliance on occasion in the capital. On Tuesday, he will aim to help reverse a 3-2 first-leg disadvantage at the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal.

Discussing the fixture beforehand, Garnacho addressed the difficulty of securing victory in north London and directed criticism toward United following their 3-2 triumph over a week earlier. In his Chelsea programme notes, he stated: “Everyone knows how hard it is to play there,” he said.

“When we lost the first game, I saw a lot of people saying, ‘Yeah, but no one won yet at the Emirates’. But now I think the view is a little bit different. If, for example, Manchester United can beat them there, we can do it perfectly.”

Garnacho’s remarks follow Gary Neville’s criticism of the winger’s performance during Chelsea’s victory over West Ham at the weekend. Chelsea trailed 2-0 at the interval against the Hammers, with Garnacho among three players withdrawn at half-time before his side mounted a comeback to secure all three points.

“In the first half, I have to say that West Ham were absolutely fantastic,” Neville said. “They dominated the game, even though they didn’t dominate possession; they dominated the game.

“They had the best chances, they were more physical, and that left side of Chelsea was obliterated. Alejandro Garnacho is a player that divides opinion, I think, at times.

“A lot of people are questioning, is he top-class or where is he? Where is he in the pecking order?”.

“What was difficult to watch last night was a young player like that, who’s gone to Chelsea and he looked shot to pieces in terms of his confidence on that left-hand side.

“I’m not just talking about when [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka kept going off him running forward, but actually when he got the ball, his first touch was back and then he just kept going back and giving it away.

“It was an awkward, very horrible experience for both Hato and Garnacho on that left side, and Badiashiele. But once he changed it, the complete and utter transformation of the game occurred.”