Alejandro Garnacho sends fans a poignant social media message after Man United’s FA Cup defeat to Fulham – one week on from having to buy his team-mates dinner after petulant Instagram post

Alejandro Garnacho has shared a poignant message for Manchester United fans after the Red Devils were knocked out of the FA Cup by Fulham on Sunday. 

Defender Calvin Bassey opened the scoring for the visitors at Old Trafford before Bruno Fernandes equalised in the 71st minute.

With the tie a stalemate into injury time and through extra time, the match was decided from the spot and Bernd Leno saved from Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee to send the Cottagers through to the quarter-finals. 

Garnacho missed out on a spot in the starting XI but was introduced by his manager in the 53rd minute. 

The Argentine winger was a positive addition to Ruben Amorim’s struggling team but was one of the players singled out by Amorim with room for improvement. 

‘I think we are better in the first ball than the second ball,’ Amorim said at full-time. ‘Sometimes (Garnacho) is not in the right position to defend, but in the perfect position for transition.’ 

Garnacho, who did not take a penalty in the shootout, later shared his feelings on the tie with his Instagram followers.  

‘Sorry United fans (crying emoji),’ the 20-year-old shared in an Instagram story, alongside a picture of himself sitting on the pitch with his back to the camera. 

The player’s latest post comes in the wake of a far more contentious one shared in the aftermath of his appearance against Ipswich last month. 

Shortly before the half-time break, Garnacho’s team-mate Patrick Dorgu was handed a straight red card for his challenge on Omari Hutchinson, and as United went down to 10 men, the winger was the casualty when swapped for Noussair Mazraoui. 

The decision from Amorim did not go down well with the Old Trafford faithful – who booed the substitution – and Garnacho himself, who trudged straight down the tunnel rather than waiting on the bench. 

Garnacho later posted a picture of himself walking away from the pitch without comment, something that his manager said at full-time he would discuss ‘in the next press conference’. 

When the time came, Amorim revealed that Garnacho will buy his team-mates dinner to apologise for his petulance. 

‘He came to me,’ said the United boss. ‘It was funny because the next day he came to my office. 

‘I did some investigations; he went to the dressing-room, changed his clothes because he was wet, he watched the game, not on the bench, and at the end of the game he was there and went home.

‘There’s not an issue. But I told him that at Manchester United everything is important and perception at a big club is really important. He is going to pay a dinner for all the team and that is it.

‘I think it is completely different for the players,’ Amorim continued. ‘Before it was just two newspapers and nothing more. Now there is social media, they are so focused on it. You cannot go to it without seeing news and a photo. 

‘There can be a hundred things and one bad thing, and they focus on that. There can be criticism and they need help to deal with that. It is modern football.

‘I think he understands. They read everything, all the small things. I know the players quite well, I understand they are frustrated. He was subbed, he was playing well. I am just trying to help them to be better players.’

Although Amorim admitted after defeat to Fulham that full focus for the club’s future was on the currently impossible task of winning the Premier League, Garnacho will hope that he can redeem himself in United’s last hope of silverware this term on Thursday. 

The Red Devils switch attentions back to the Europa League, and will travel to Spain to face Real Sociedad in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie.