MANUEL UGARTE took aim at Manchester United new boy Diego Leon after he suffered an awkward mishap while providing his first assist.
Leon, 18, completed an Old Trafford transfer earlier in the summer for £3.3million – possibly rising to £7m – from Cerro Porteno.
6
6
6
6
6
The Paraguayan left-back comes highly rated and has already drawn praise from both manager Ruben Amorim and his team-mates.
However, fellow South American Ugarte took a cheekier approach to hyping up his new colleague after he landed his first assist in United colours in an unusual manner.
The teen had been one of nine changes made by Amorim in the 70th minute of Thursday morning’s Premier League Summer Series clash against Bournemouth, won 4-1 by the Red Devils.
And just moments after coming on, Leon had received the ball and was positive in driving towards the Cherries’ defence.
Following a heavy touch from the wing, Leon retrieved the ball and dribbled towards goal.
But just as he was about to arrive at the edge of the penalty area, he tripped over and fell flat on his face.
Luckily for Leon, the overlapping Ethan Williams was on hand to pick up the ball before it could be cleared and cut inside to score into the bottom corner with a devastating right-foot finish to the near post.
Leon’s gaffe was forgotten in the moment as United stars rushed to celebrate the goal of 19-year-old Williams.
BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK
Ugarte, also a 70th-minute sub, expressed his congratulations to Leon for his “first assist” on social media after the game by sharing footage of the goal.
However, the 24-year-old had his sights set on trolling his team-mate as the footage of the goal was edited over with a clip from the movie American Sniper.
In the edited clip shared to the Uruguayan’s Instagram story, Bradley Cooper‘s character – Chris Kyle – can be seen preparing his sniper rifle while he aims at a target.
The video then switches back to Leon as he dribbles towards goal before a shot is fired from the sniper and Leon goes tumbling over.
Fans loved the dig on social media, with one fan saying: “Love the banter between them.”
A second said: “Uruguayan trolling a Paraguayan after a 4-1 win is all I wanted to see. Ugarte trolling Leon is the best thing you will see all week long.”
Another said: “VIBES FC MIGHT BE BACK!”
A fourth added: “Brutal.”
Following United’s opening pre-season game against Leeds, Amorim said of Leon: “We have to understand that the kid came from Paraguay and it’s the first week, the second week in Manchester United.
“He did really well, he’s learning things, he’s powerful. He’s going to be a very good player.”
A pre-season assist, even in a rather unorthodox manner, is sure to do his confidence the world of good.
The same could be said for Rasmus Hojlund, who opened the scoring against Bournemouth and was instrumental on the third by occupying defenders before Amad Diallo struck home.
However, Amorim refused to guarantee the future of the Danish ace amid talk United are lining up a transfer for Benjamin Sesko.
6
TRANSFER NEWS LIVE – KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW
