Sir Alex: Rafael Has Great Chance

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.”