It was a night to forget for Altay Bayindir as the forgotten Manchester United goalkeeper suffered more heartache after a difficult season.
Bayindir started against Portugal and conceded three goals, but his role in a calamitous own goal scored by Samet Akaydir will be remembered for all the wrong reasons.
Turkey were already 1-0 down when Bayindir came rushing off his line, only for Akaydin to pass the ball back, only for the ball to cross the line before the keeper could recover.
Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville, whose working as a pundit on ITV, was far from impressed by Bayindir’s involvement in the mistake.
“The defender doesn’t look where the goalkeeper is and I have to say, when a goalkeeper converges when there’s not a lot of space between the ball and the defender, it very rarely ends well,” said Neville, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News. “It’s a poor cocktail and I have to say, the goalkeeper really should stay where he is.”
Turkey trailed 2-0 at this point and matters were made worse when Bruno Fernandes tapped the ball into the net to triple Portugal’s lead.
What does the future hold for Bayindir?
The Turkish keeper joined United last summer, with a deal agreed on deadline day.
Bayindir went from being first choice at Fenerbahce to making just one appearance for United in the FA Cup as he played second fiddle to Andre Onana.
There is interest from Turkey but I don’t think his performance against Portugal will attract any new clubs.
United will need to sign a new keeper as back-up if Bayindir decides to leave after the European Championship. He will want to get back to playing games regularly.
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