"He was the best player on the pitch" - Owen Hargreaves lauds Manchester United star for performance in 2-0 win against Villarreal

Former player turned pundit Owen Hargreaves heaped praise on new signing Jadon Sancho following his first goal for Manchester United in their 2-0 win over Villarreal.

Hargreaves stated that Sancho was the best player on the pitch and showcased some of his Borussia Dortmund form for Manchester United. The 40-year-old pundit also lauded the performance of goalkeeper David De Gea. Speaking to BT Sport (via the Manchester Evening News), Hargreaves said:

"Even if it wasn't pretty, you get the job done. That's the sport at our level, getting the job done. David [de Gea] made big saves and they started the game to get a draw and the game was there to be won. You bring on Marcus [Rashford], you bring on Bruno [Fernandes] with Ronaldo.

"Jadon was the best player on the pitch and looked like the Jadon we saw at Dortmund. That's a huge moment because defensively they've been all over the gaffe - only two teams have conceded more, so to keep a clean sheet here is huge and, with the attackers they have, they will always score."

Manchester United booked their berth in the knockout rounds of the UEFA Champions League after beating Villarreal 2-0 in Spain. It was also Michael Carrick's first game in charge as caretaker manager after the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring for Manchester United in the 78th minute mark before Jadon Sancho secured the win with a goal in injury-time. This was Sancho's first ever goal contribution for Manchester United since his £73 million move from Borussia Dortmund. The 21-year-old winger took 15 appearances to score his first goal for the club.

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Manchester United face a tough test in the Premier League

Following their exploits in the Champions League, Manchester United will return to the Premier League to face a couple of tricky games. The Red Devils are set to travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday to take on current league leaders Chelsea.

The Blues are in exceptional form at the moment, sitting three points clear of Manchester City in second place and four points ahead of Liverpool. Thomas Tuchel's side defeated Juventus 4-0 in the Champions League to reserve their own spot in the next round of the competition.

Manchester United are going through a rough patch of form in the Premier League. The Red Devils have lost five of their last seven games in the league, a record which left the club with no choice but to sack Solskjaer.

Following their trip to Chelsea, Manchester United will then take on Arsenal in yet another difficult game in the Premier League.