Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag wasted no time in handing Leny Yoro his first appearance for the club.
The centre-back was signed from Lille for an initial €62 million ($67.8 million) on July 18 and was handed his first start for the club just two days later in a friendly match with Rangers at Murrayfield in Scotland.
It was something of a surprise to see the 18-year-old fast-tracked into preseason duties after a whirlwind few days in which he chose to sign for United despite long being expected to join European champions Real Madrid.
So, how did the France Under-21 international get on in his first appearance in the famous red shirt?
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Leny Yoro Man United debut vs. Rangers: Rating new signing's performance
Yoro was named in the starting lineup alongside veteran defender Jonny Evans. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was next to the new signing at right-back, with academy product Sam Murray on the opposite flank.
He was called upon quickly to intervene when Cyriel Dessers was given a run through on goal, but he showed good pace and strength to keep up with the forward and timed his tackle well.
Pace + strength = solid @Leny_Yoro defending 👊
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The opening half-hour was otherwise a quiet one for the United defence in general, which may well have helped any initial nerves for the teenager. He looked comfortable in possession, of which United had nearly 75 per cent, completing all but one of his first 34 passes. Three of these were accurate long balls, one of which was a superb crossfield pass to pick out the forward run of Sam Murray.
Yoro was happy to offer instruction to his new team-mates. At one stage late in the first half, he ordered Amad Diallo to make a run before trying to arrow a long pass over the top to the winger, which was well intercepted by full-back Jefte.
There were a couple of nervy moments, though. Thirty-two minutes in, a low cross from the right found Dessers, who turned away from Yoro and saw his shot saved by Andre Onana. Around five minutes later, Yoro played a rather careless pass in between Toby Collyer and Evans, allowing Dessers to lead a quick counter. To Yoro's credit, he recovered quickly to block the striker's shot.
Ten Hag will have been far more pleased with Yoro's involvement in United's opening goal in the first half. Yoro's pass into Mason Mount allowed the midfielder to turn and run into space before finding Amad Diallo, who cut in from the left and found the bottom corner with a superb strike.
Yoro was substituted at halftime as Ten Hag changed the entire United lineup, except for goalkeeper Onana, for the second half. The manager will likely have been pleased with what he saw in those first 45 minutes of Yoro's Red Devils career.
Leny Yoro stats for Man United vs. Rangers
- Touches: 51
- Passes completed: 44/48
- Long passes completed: 4/7
- Tackles won: 1/1
- Duels won: 1/1
- Blocks: 1
- Clearances: 1
- Recoveries: 2
