Manchester United centre-back Eric Bailly has a pretty unorthodox approach to defending, as we saw once again in tonight’s Europa League final.
Bailly, a polarising figure at Old Trafford, could be criticised for his struggles to remain fit for prolonged periods and knack for making costly defensive errors, but you could never accuse him of being boring.
Had they the option, managers would probably not want their defenders to be entertaining, rather safe, solid and dependable – but Bailly is none of those, yet he starts for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
We can only imagine that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer quite enjoys the Ivorian’s bizarre defensive techniques, such as this attempted overhead-kick clearance, a failed one, which put Man United in danger of conceding a second.
Pictures courtesy of BT Sport
Thankfully for Bailly, the ball pin-balled around the penalty area, with Edinson Cavani netting the equaliser just a matter of minutes later. This could have ended in disaster for both Man United and his neck.
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