Fans could see Maresca dish out instructions to Garnacho at the hour mark of the Manchester United vs Chelsea game today and were surprised that the winger never got a chance to play. When the board came up for a Chelsea change, it was Gusto and Tyrique George coming on for Fofana and Cucurella.
During his post-match conference, Enzo Maresca explained that Garnacho was the prepared substitute but he had to be snubbed for a defensive reinforcement because of a problem with Fofana.
“We sent him (Garnacho) to warm up because the idea was to give Alejandro minutes,” Maresca explained. “But Wes Fofana asked to be changed so we decided to go with Malo Gusto.”
Garnacho was an unused sub vs Bayern Munich in the Champions League last Wednesday and came on as a substitute for a cameo vs Brentford. His error, leaving his man was seen as the reason Brentford drew level in the dying stages of that game.
