Alejandro Garnacho has found himself on the receiving end of Manchester United fans’ mockery after a dig at his former club backfired following Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday.
The Argentina international, who joined Chelsea for £40million last summer, left Old Trafford under acrimonious circumstances after being in former United manager Ruben Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ of exiles.
The Red Devils have enjoyed a resurgence of form under interim boss Michael Carrick, breaking into the Premier League’s top four after three successive wins against Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham.
Ahead of Chelsea’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against the Gunners on Tuesday, Garnacho was asked about the prospect of travelling to the Emirates and overturning the 3-2 deficit they had suffered in the first leg.
The 21-year-old star replied: ‘Everyone knows how hard it is to play there [at the Emirates]. If, for example, Man United can beat them there, we can do it perfectly.’
Garnacho, who was initially named on the substitutes’ bench and later brought on in the second half, was left with egg on his face after Chelsea ultimately endured a 1-0 defeat on the night following Kai Havertz’s late goal in stoppage time, crashing out with a 4-2 loss on aggregate.
Fans are ridiculing Alejandro Garnacho after his cheeky dig at old club Man United backfired
Before facing Arsenal at the Emirates in the Carabao Cup final second leg, he said: ‘Everyone knows how hard it is to play there. If Man United can beat them there, we can do it perfectly’
Fans quickly took to social media to ruthlessly mock the winger: ‘Well, that went well didn’t it’
Fans quickly took to social media to ruthlessly mock the Argentine following Chelsea’s disappointing Carabao Cup exit.
‘Didn’t age well,’ one fan joked on X.
A second added: ‘Well, that went well didn’t it.’
A third, finishing their post with a laughing emoji, wrote: ‘How did that work out for you?’
Even before kick-off, several fans had called out Garnacho, questioning whether his ‘bravado’-filled comments were foolish.
‘Interesting comment to make when you’ve just lost to them at home a couple of weeks earlier. That’s Garnacho for you,’ a supporter posted.
A second chimed in and said: ‘Who does he think he is?’
Another added: ‘About Alejandro Garnacho’s pre-match talk. Young players showing swagger is fun, but the pitch is the final judge.
Garnacho came on as a second-half substitute but was unable to impact the game for Chelsea
The Argentine let Old Trafford after being placed in Ruben Amorim’s ‘bomb squad’ last summer
United have enjoyed a resurgence under interim Michael Carrick, winning three on the spin
‘Confidence can fire up a squad, but results will decide if the words were bold or premature. Do you think his mindset reflects Chelsea’s new fearless approach, or just youthful bravado?’
With Tuesday’s victory, Arsenal reached their first final since 2020 under Mikel Arteta, keeping dreams of a potential quadruple alive after starting the season impressively in the Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups.
Meanwhile, Chelsea suffered their first major setback since Liam Rosenior’s appointment as Enzo Maresca’s successor.
Paul Merson ripped into Chelsea for ‘going out with a whimper’ in a scathing assessment of their performance on Tuesday.
‘I’m flabbergasted. I can’t believe what I just watched,’ a furious Merson said on Sky Sports.
‘This is Chelsea Football Club. They’ve got international players, a World Cup winner and they’ve got good players all over the pitch.
‘This is not a bottom four or bottom five team. He’s [Wesley Fofana] crying. He should be crying because they never had a go.
‘It’s unbelievable and I’m lost for words. I cannot believe what has happened. They’ve just gone out with an absolute whimper in the semi-final of a big competition. If it worked, it was great, but it hasn’t worked and you can’t gamble like that.
‘Have a go, and go out in a blaze of glory – don’t go out like that.’
With Tuesday’s victory, Arsenal reached their first final since 2020 under Mikel Arteta
Paul Merson was furious with Chelsea’s display after their second leg defeat by Arsenal
Chelsea had two shots on target and 14 overall during a drab second leg, while defender Fofana had the most touches of any Blues player inside the Arsenal box.
Rosenior’s team did have a higher xG than the Gunners before Havertz resoundingly put the tie to bed but rarely came close to overhauling their first-leg deficit.
‘They played in second gear,’ Merson added. ‘This is the semi-final of the cup. You should go out in a blaze [of glory].
‘I keep on saying it but this is not like a League One or League Two team coming to the Emirates to keep the score down. They’ve got the players to mix it with Arsenal and have a go but they didn’t have a go.
‘There’s ways of losing. If they had lost the game 3-0, and they had shot after shot, Kepa was brilliant in goal and they broke like that three times you’d go “that’s the way it is”.
‘You see Fofana there. He played well but he’s crying – he’s probably crying because he knows it was a missed opportunity.
‘They’ll forever be thinking about that in their football careers.’
In response to Merson, Rosenior defended Chelsea’s tactical approach. ‘I’ve been a pundit. It’s easy. It’s easy in hindsight,’ he said.
‘So if I go and attack the game, press really high and we concede two goals early, everyone says, “What’s he doing?” That’s the reality of my job. The reality of my job is if you lose games, you’ll be criticised. If you win, you’re a genius. It’s normally somewhere in between.’
