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Football

05th Feb 2022

Marcus Rashford offers support to Anthony Elanga after penalty miss

Callum Boyle

Elanga missed from the spot to send Manchester United out of the FA Cup

Marcus Rashford has offered his support to teammate Anthony Elanga after he missed his penalty during Manchester United’s shoot-out defeat to Middlesbrough on Friday night.

United were beaten by the Championship side after being held to a 1-1 draw with Jadon Sancho’s goal cancelled out by a controversial equaliser from ‘Boro’s Matt Crooks.

With neither side able to find the winner, the tie was taken to a penalty shoot-out however youngster Elanga was unable to convert – putting his effort over the bar to knock the Red Devils out.

Elanga was immediately surrounded by his teammates on the pitch at Old Trafford who helped to console him whilst Cristiano Ronaldo – who missed a penalty in the first-half –  could be seen offering him advice.

The youngster has since been subjected to abuse on social media but Rashford has leapt to the defence of Elanga and offered him support following his miss.

He tweeted: “Anthony Elanga. Get that head of yours up immediately,” before posting a love heart emoji after the message.

Rashford experienced a similar story himself after the final of the European Championships last summer following his penalty miss in the final against Italy and was the victim of vile racist abuse along with Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka.

As reported by the Daily MailMeta – the company who owns Instagram, revealed that they deleted a number of racially abusive comments made at Elanga and are in the process of beginning an investigation.

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