Alejandro Garnacho's fiery challenge for Argentina gave off Wayne Rooney vibes | OneFootball

Manchester United star Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench for Argentina to make his second appearance for his nation in their friendly match with Indonesia on Monday.

Goals from Leandro Paredes and Cristian Romero saw Garnacho’s side sail to a 2-0 victory, although the Red Devils youngster impressed in his 30-minute second-half cameo.

While many fans would have been excited to see a blistering turn of pace or an audacious shot from the 18-year-old, they were instead treated to him channeling his inner Wayne Rooney.

With just moments of the match left, Garnacho used his fresh legs to burst into open space, dismissing two Indonesia players in the process.

Indonesia’s right back Asnawi Bahar recovered to win back possession from Garnacho.

Although it was a clean tackle, the United ace was not best pleased and flew into a challenge just moments after.

Somehow, the pacy winger avoided picking up a card of any sort and will consider himself fortunate that he walked away without a caution.

It invoked memories of a young Rooney, who was well-known during his early days at United for his fondness for a full-blooded challenge.

You can watch a clip of the tackle below…

Fans react

United fans have praised their prized asset for his fighting spirit.

Twitter user @TenHagBall_ posted the video and captioned it with “DAWGGGGG” and his fellow United supporters loved the footage.

“Garnacho is him man, I can feel his passion.” one fan commented, while another replied: “Imagine if Sancho had this fighting spirit.”

“Every time he’s on the ball 5 players come straight at him lol” another United fan said.

A fourth fan added: "Garnacho has that dog in him. You love to see it", while one fan claimed: "Licha would be proud."

What’s next for Alejandro Garnacho?

Garnacho enjoyed his breakthrough season in 2022/23 and became one of the most exciting young players in the Premier League.

He returned five goals and the same number of assists in 34 games across all competitions, though the majority of those did come from being a substitute.

United’s Jadon Sancho has been subject to criticism since his move back to England and he may be eclipsed by his Argentine teammate if the former Borussia Dortmund star’s form is not of a consistently high standard next season.

That being said, one of United’s many tricks up their sleeve has been utilising Garnacho from the bench - his electric pace and unpredictability when running with the ball is a tough task for tired legs, meaning Erik ten Hag may opt to keep him away from the starting line-up for the time being.

Something that may play into Garnacho’s hands is his latest showing of tenacity. Although it came while on international duty for Argentina, it will likely not have gone unnoticed by the United boss.