MANCHESTER UNITED pair Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho have made the shortlist for the Kopa Trophy award at the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
The Kopa Trophy, which has been handed out since 2018, is given to “the best performing player worldwide under the age of 21”.
The winner will be confirmed on October 28 – the same evening the Ballon d’Or is dished out.
Previous winners of the Kopa Trophy are Kylian Mbappe, Matthijs de Ligt, Pedri, Gavi and Jude Bellingham.
Red Devils duo Garnacho, 20, and Mainoo, 19, enjoyed impressive seasons at Old Trafford despite Erik ten Hag’s side slumping to an eighth place finish in the Premier League.
Mainoo broke into the Man Utd team and was ever-present in their midfield during the second half of the campaign.
He scored the winner in the FA Cup final, then went on to become a key part of Gareth Southgate’s England side at the Euros.
Meanwhile, Garnacho scored 10 goals and provided five assists in all competitions in the 2023/24 season.
He also started one of Argentina‘s games in the Copa America as they defended their title.
Barcelona and Spain superstar Lamine Yamal, 17, will be the overwhelming favourite to claim the Kopa Trophy.
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He has been nominated after 16 goal contributions for Barcelona last season and a standout first international tournament for Spain.
The winger was named the Young Player of the Tournament at the Euros, scoring in the semi-final and remaining a key figure throughout the competition as Spain triumphed in Germany.
The other Kopa Trophy nominees are Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi, Real Madrid midfielder Arda Guler, RB Salzburg forward Karim Konate, Paris Saint-Germain midfielders Joao Neves and Warren Zaire-Emery, Manchester City winger Savinho, and Bayern Munich striker Mathys Tel.
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MANCHESTER UNITED had a horror show against Liverpool as they lost 3-0.
Casemiro was so bad he was taken off at half-time.
But were there any positive performances at Old Trafford?
Andre Onana – 5
Nothing he could do about any of Liverpool’s goals and made a few saves to prevent the scoreline from getting worse.
Noussair Mazraoui – 5
Came close to scoring in the first half and looked solid enough against Diaz although he did push up too high before Liverpool’s opener.
Matthijs de Ligt – 4
Left Diaz and Domink Szobozslai in acres of space for the opening goal but was left in a tricky spot thanks to Casemiro’s error.
Booked for a shocking late tackle on Diaz.
Lisandro Martinez – 3
Lost Diaz for the second goal which meant the Colombian was able to score unmarked from the penalty spot.
Also guilty of giving away the ball too easily and was not tight enough with his marking.
Diogo Dalot – 4
Was caught out pushing up too quickly for the first goal and did not do enough to stop Mo Salah’s cross in the build-up to Liverpool’s second.
Looked dangerous in attack at times but too infrequently as he had plenty of defensive work to do since Rashford did not track Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Casemiro – 2
A horror show in the first half as he gave the ball away in the lead up to both of Liverpool’s goals.
He was caught on the ball for the second after a shocking misplaced pass left his defence vulnerable for the opening goal. Hooked at half-time.
Kobbie Mainoo – 4
Fell victim to the Casemiro curse as he was shrugged off the ball in a terrible position, allowing Liverpool to add a third with ease.
Bruno Fernandes – 5
Was United’s most creative spark but that is not saying much. Tried to get his side going in the first half but looked short of ideas and inspiration after the break.
Alejandro Garnacho – 4
Still appears to be a little rusty and is yet to hit the heights he reached last season.
Marcus Rashford – 3
Nothing came off for the out-of-sorts forward who must be running out of chances before he is dropped.
Joshua Zirkzee – 4
Quiet up-front and had little influence on the wing as well, but missed a clear-cut chance with his head and should have turned in Rashford’s cross which he met at the far post.
Subs
Toby Collyer (for Casemiro, HT) – 5
A difficult game for the youngster to make his Premier League debut but he put himself about and won a few tackles.
Harry Maguire (for De Ligt, 69mins) – 5
Shored things up at the back as Liverpool took their foot off the pedal.
Amad (for Garnacho, 69mins) – 5
Provided a spark on the right and looked more lively than Garnacho.
Christian Eriksen (for Zirkzee, 86mins) – N/A
Not on long enough to make an impact.
