A Manchester United victory was sealed against Arsenal 1-1 (5-3) on penalties in the third round of the FA Cup at the Emirates Stadium last Sunday, January 12. Bruno Fernandes scored first for United, only for Arsenal to equalize through Gabriel.
However, it was goalkeeper Altay Bayındır, who saved a penalty in regulation time and another in the penalty shootout to guide the Red Devils to a victory. He also came up with a flurry of saves to register a wonderful performance.
Bayındır has played in only four matches for Manchester United including Sunday’s match, but the performance against Arsenal is surely going to catapult him into stardom. He might give Andre Onana some stiff competition for the place of the main goalkeeper of his team.
Manchester United Victory Came Despite a Red Card
Diogo Dalot saw a second yellow card in the second half following a reckless and needless tackle in the middle of the pitch. Thus, the visitors had to play for close to an hour including the extra time with 10 men.
United gave emphasis on playing with a low block in their 3-4-3, which often became 5-4-1 while out of possession. Somewhat surprisingly, Alejandro Garnacho started on the right flank instead of the left, with Fernandes playing as the left-winger.
Manchester United relied a lot on counter-attacks and it was not surprising to see their goal come from a counter-attack. Garnacho made the run into the empty space and then delivered a pass to Fernandes, who finished superbly from the edge of the penalty box.
However, after Dalot’s red card, United’s strategy was to survive somehow. They replaced Rasmus Hojlund and Garnacho with Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo, respectively, with the latter playing as the right wing-back.
Sensing Amad’s defensive vulnerability, Ruben Amorim replaced Manuel Ugarte with Tyrell Malacia, who started playing as the left wing-back. Noussair Mazraoui switched to the right wing-back’s role once again.
The United back-five did a good job to restrict Arsenal, who attacked a lot through the inside-right channel. The Gunners kept playing chipped through balls to their onrushing forwards, but Matthijs de Ligt made a very crucial block and a wonderful clearance to save the day for Manchester United.
Then there was the big Bayındır, who used his long reach and height to a good effect throughout the match. The Turkish goalkeeper also saved two penalties in the crucial win, including Kai Havertz’s penalty in the shootout to help the visitors win the match.
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Arsenal’s Trophy Drought Might Continue this Season
The Gunners might go on to have another trophyless season this time around. They already trail Newcastle United 0-2 after the First leg of their EFL Cup semifinal. Unless they come up with an exceptional performance in the second leg, the chances of reaching the final are very slim.
That means that the Gunners will have to focus on the Premier League and UEFA Champions League. Winning the Champions League should prove to be too tough for them and Liverpool are ahead by a significant margin in the Premier League.
Hence, Mikel Arteta’s men should find it really difficult to win a trophy this season as well. They have a solitary FA Cup title to show for during the reign of Arteta, who is into his sixth year as the Arsenal manager.
It remains to be seen whether his men are able to turn the tide during the remainder of the season.