Sir Alex described Rafael da Silva’s Old Trafford debut
as “very promising” after the Brazilian teenager played 45 minutes
in the Reds’ 0-0 draw against Juventus on Wednesday night.
The right back made his first Reds appearance on
Monday night in the friendly against Peterborough, where he dazzled
onlookers with his pace down the flank.
On Wednesday, he entered the game at half-time to loud cheers from
the Old Trafford crowd and went on to catch the manager’s eye once
again.
“Rafael started quietly but then he exploded into the game,” Sir
Alex told MUTV.
“We’re very pleased with his progress and the boy has a great
chance. When you bear in mind the fact that he’s not played for a
year, it was a very promising debut at Old Trafford.”
The Reds boss was also delighted with the crowd, who remained vocal
despite the game’s lack of goals.
“It’s great when we have all these kids inside Old Trafford to
watch us,” he said. “We offer cheaper tickets for children on
nights like this and they were fantastic. I think they will have
enjoyed the match.
“We saw two good teams and a lot of good football from both sides.
It was an open game and there were some good openings.
“There were maybe 40,000 kids here tonight and they don’t all get
many opportunities to see United. That pleases me more than
anything.”