Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir was once again given the responsibility to start in goal against Chelsea despite his horror show against Manchester City last weekend.
He has made errors in almost all Premier League games so far, and despite Senne Lammens’ arrival, the Turk continues to start in goal.
He will be grateful to Ruben Amorim for the trust shown in him, and the Turkiye international did well against the Blues as the Red Devils emerged 2-1 winners.
His passing has been an impressive aspect of United’s play this season, with the ex-Fenerbahce star’s brilliant long punt leading to Robert Sanchez’s red card.
Brilliant pass from Altay Bayindir
And one brilliant clearance late in the game ensured the three points was claimed by the home side.
The 27-year-old hardly had anything to do in the first half, as it was completely one-way traffic. Speaking to MUTV, he revealed that not doing anything and then being called into action is among the most difficult things for a keeper to handle.
“In the first 45 minutes, I can say more. For me it was more difficult because when you don’t have any position, you are getting cold, in this weather.
“It’s raining and you have to keep your mind focused for every second because in the game, anything can happen. I am happy I did this and we are happy because we won.”
He also revealed his pride at the team for bouncing back after the pressure the team was under following the derby debacle.
“We are working every day for every position, but sometimes you can be unlucky in the game. Sometimes, players are doing blocks and it’s a foul. It doesn’t matter how strong you are, you cannot go to the ball.
“If someone will be here, you cannot move, it’s difficult and in all of the Premier League, referees are not saying it is a foul for the disposition, so we have to improve ourselves for everything, for every situation.
“That’s what we are doing every day in the training and today was good. In the second half, after the punch, we are feeling happy, more confident. Before the game we spoke and we knew it was a very important game for us. We had to win and everyone was emotional.
Keep the fire burning
He revealed how fired up the team was to perform in front of an expectant Old Trafford on Saturday.
“Like everyone saw on the pitch, everyone was fired up and running. We have to keep this energy for every game and we have to win more games because we have to make our fans and everyone happy.
“When you are winning, everyone is happy and when you are going home, you can sleep very easily. You don’t have to think about anything because you already know everyone is happy.
“Today it was a big game, an important game. But we are Manchester United. We are a big club in the world and we have to always feel this fire. We already know our responsibility, but in every game, we have to keep this energy and I hope we can win more games and we can make everyone happy.”
It will be interesting to see if Altay Bayindir keeps his place for the next game against Brentford, or if Lammens finally gets a run out.
Feature image Jan Kruger via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
