Eric Bailly was one of Manchester United’s best performers as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men secured their passage through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with a convincing victory over Brighton.
Juan Mata will deservedly steal the headlines for a man of the match performance. The Spaniard scored one and made another and was the best player on the pitch throughout.
But Bailly once again was near-flawless with United’s defensive efforts considerably improved with the return of the Ivorian just four days after he was left out for the dramatic 3-2 victory in the Premier League.
Stretty News discussed in the build-up to tonight’s fixture that Solskjaer should have used tonight’s game as auditions for Donny van de Beek and Bailly to start in the huge league game against Tottenham on Sunday.
Solskjaer confirmed before kick-off, as per the Manchester Evening News, that Harry Maguire was rested as a precaution due to a minor knock and Bailly certainly took his opportunity alongside Lindelof.
Bailly won every one of his tackles and had a 91% pass accuracy as he showed composure playing out from the back.
Surely the 26-year-old is now in line to start against the manager who brought him to Old Trafford four years ago…
See Bailly’s stats below, courtesy of popular statistician Statman Dave on Twitter:
Eric Bailly’s game by numbers vs. Brighton:
100% tackles won
91% pass accuracy
2 interceptions
2 clearances
2 blocks
0 fouls
0 goals concededAnother impressive showing. 🇨🇮 pic.twitter.com/3BK2zcIV3s
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 30, 2020
READ MORE: (Video) Juan Mata visibly excited to be playing with ‘clever’ Donny van de Beek after Brighton win
