Manchester United legend Sammy McIlroy has praised the ‘superb temperament’ of Anthony Elanga after the youngster scored two important goals this week.

Elanga has enjoyed the best few days of his fledgling career with two impressive performances from the bench; first at Elland Road, where his late goal secured three points, and then in Spain, where his strike earned United a 1-1 draw they scarcely deserved.

McIlroy confesses that he was concerned about United’s performance up to that point.

“I was doing commentary for the radio and I found it hard,” McIlroy told TalkOfTheDevils exclusively. “Obviously I want United to win and do well but I was struggling, watching it, to see what they could do because I wanted them to get better. You couldn’t see anything happening.”

“At eighty minutes I thought there was only one winner because we’d shown nothing. Oblak in goal hadn’t had to make a save. Okay, they didn’t create a lot of chances, but they had the 1-0 lead, and hit the bar twice. Maybe they were content to hold on to that lead but we just didn’t look as though we’d break the ice.”

Elanga was one of five substitutes used by manager Ralf Rangnick to disturb that poor performance and to interject some liveliness; it was a move that paid dividends as the forward moved well to receive a Fernandes pass and hit an early shot into the corner. And it was the size of the occasion, and the nature of Elanga’s response on Sunday – scoring and playing confidently after being struck by an object from the crowd – which impressed McIlroy most of all.

“We eventually did (break the ice),” he says. “The young boy Elanga came off the bench with no fear. He’s definitely got an eye for goal, as he showed against Leeds. His temperament, especially on the big occasion in a cauldron like Madrid. Elland Road isn’t a place for the faint hearts and the boy certainly has a superb temperament.”

You can listen to McIlroy talk about Elanga, George Best and his own career on the latest episode of the Talking Devils podcast.