Manchester United might have already completed their most important signing this summer

When Manchester United were in desperate need of a spark underneath the Wembley arch on Saturday afternoon, Erik ten Hag turned his bench and tasked Alejandro Garnacho with providing it.

United were trailing 2-1 with just under half an hour left on the clock and their hopes of derailing Manchester City's treble hopes were fading. Bruno Fernandes, despite scoring the penalty to bring the Reds level in the first half, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho had failed to lay so much as a glove on City's strong and dependable defence, meaning a tweak of some sort was needed.

Injuries to Anthony Martial and Antony in the build-up to the FA Cup final meant Ten Hag had to reshuffle his forward line, tasking Fernandes with starting on the right and Rashford through the middle. Had everyone been fit and available, Antony would have almost certainly started on the right, Martial down the centre and Rashford on the left.

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Nevertheless, a front-three boasting a 30-goal forward and two big-money signings should have done more to make City think than it did. It was not until Garnacho was introduced in place of Christian Eriksen with 62 minutes gone that Pep Guardiola's side were stretched and had to react.

As soon as he stepped onto the pitch, the speed of United's attack and the pendulum, certainly in the latter stages as United piled bodies forward, changed. Garnacho had given Ten Hag the spark he was looking for.

Though his efforts, in the end, did not do enough to change the outcome of the contest, it was not for the want of trying. Garnacho, every time he got the ball on the left-wing, looked dangerous and attempted to make something happen. He tested City more in