'Outstanding': Alan Shearer names three Man United players he thought were 'superb' in win over Arsenal
Today at 01:55 PM
Manchester United delivered a performance of the ages during their visit to Arsenal in the third round of the FA Cup.
Although Ruben Amorim's Man United side were 1-0 up and looking in a fair amount of control at the Emirates Stadium, but everything then changed when Diogo Dalot recklessly flew into an ill-advised challenge in the 61st minute – one that will now be forgiven.
United were down to ten men and two minutes later, Arsenal had levelled the game with more than half an hour still to play.
Nonetheless, Amorim's side dug in, continued to make chances, and arguably deserved to progress to the next round given the determination they showed in north London.
And whilst Altay Bayindir was the hero for United, there were several incredible performances for Amorim to enjoy.
Alan Shearer praises Altay Bayindir, Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire
That being said, whilst covering the game for BBC Sport, Alan Shearer picked Bayindir as his Player of the Match, but it was an award that the pundit ultimately wanted to share.
Throughout the game, Shearer was relentlessly praising Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire too, who were defending their box with so much spirit.
De Ligt produced a monumental block to deny Arsenal, and in truth, Maguire never deserved to concede a penalty, something he clearly knew.
Shearer praised all three, starting with Man United's second-choice keeper: "Altay Bayindir was absolutely outstanding.
"He holds his nerve, he doesn’t blink first.
"It was a three-way tie between him and De Ligt and Maguire who I thought were also superb but just because of his penalty save, I thought I would give it to him [the player of the match award].
"When you get given an opportunity, you have to take it and he took it today."
United prove their fighting spirit under Ruben Amorim
In the same coverage, Gary Lineker called for a football law change after something that happened in United's dramatic win over Arsenal.
Micah Richards never thought Arsenal deserved a penalty, a decision which Bayindir put right when diving to his bottom left corner.
All in all, it was a brilliant effort by Amorim and his players, who, despite not winning an awful lot of late, are showing the right signs against big teams.
United will need to back Amorim's plans, which they seem prepared to do.
And there's clearly a lot to be excited about at Old Trafford, if the club can get in right in supporting their new manager's vision.
