It was far from vintage Manchester United on Saturday afternoon but they still earned a 2-0 win in their FA Cup third round clash with Reading and they were able to hand a debut to young starlet Tahith Chong.
You might be asking, 'who'? The 19-year-old has been heralded as the future of United by some as he has sparkled for the youth teams since signing from Feyenoord in July 2016.
Born on 4th December 1999, the gangly winger drew attention for his huge, Sideshow Bob-esque hair, and his initial forays with Manchester United were cut short when he suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out of action for ten months in January 2017.
The 2016/17 campaign may have been cut short but the Dutchman still had four goals in 13 starts for the academy team, and his blistering pace really came to the fore during the following campaign.
The Curacao-born starlet was named United Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year in May of last year and he has impressed for the reserves this season, scoring four goals in eleven appearances in the Premier League 2.
Chong is naturally left-footed but is capable of playing on either wing and there is clearly huge potential, albeit he still has a bit of maturing physically to do.
He relishes one-on-one battles with opposing defenders and his fine form for the reserves caught the attention of Jose Mourinho, who gave him some first-team game time during United's pre-season tour of the United States of America.
Chong was an unused substitute for United during their Champions League clash with Juventus earlier this term before he finally got his first taste of senior action on Saturday as Mourinho's replacement, the interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, threw the youngster on to replace Juan Mata in the 62nd minute against Reading at Old Trafford.
United were already 2-0 up at that point and Chong was booked just nine minutes after coming on, while he showed some nice touches as he tried to make his mark on the game.
There is still plenty of time for Chong to leave an indelible mark at Old Trafford, but for now United fans will be pleased to see youth being given a chance by Solskjaer.
