Manchester United displayed mental toughness in their 3-2 win against Ipswich Town on Wednesday as the three points came despite the Red Devils playing for over 50 minutes with a man less.
Patrick Dorgu saw a straight red for catching Omari Hutchinson high up on his left leg and while the tackle was a poor one, no malicious intent was involved.
There have been far worse tackles in the Premier League this term but obviously, VAR have never got involved but after last weekend’s Everton decision, they were bound to hurt United and unfortunately, it was the January signing who paid the price.
It was a horror night for the 20-year-old as his miscommunication with Andre Onana allowed the visitors to score within the first three minutes.
Dorgu red was a dubious call
The former Lecce star should have been more mindful of his surroundings but the Cameroonian did him no favours with the United shot-stopper also at fault for the second goal conceded on the night.
The media tried to get Ruben Amorim to criticise his new signing but the head coach would have none of it, backing Dorgu to bounce back from his first poor game since his move.
Not only the Portuguese tactician, but Dorgu also has the support of his defensive partners with goalscorers Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire praising his mentality despite the initial mistake while claiming the red card was a harsh call.
“I think everybody has had these evenings before and I think the first goal was a little bit unlucky. It was a miscommunication and that can happen,” the Dutch centre-back was quoted as saying by The Manchester Evening News.
Dorgu has his teammates’ support
“He’s new and it’s not easy. I’ve had in the past several of these moments, so I think he shouldn’t worry about that and then the red card, also a little bit unlucky. But for the rest, he played a good first half, he was really energetic and had some good runs in behind, so he will learn from this.”
The England international also praised Dorgu’s impact (via The Daily Star) since signing and claiming he will learn from this experience and become a better player.
“When you are down to ten men it does make it really, really tough. Listen, Pat will learn from it. He has been excellent and has been a real bright spark in the last couple of games. He will learn from it, pick his head up and I am sure he will go again and be a big player for this club.”
The wingback will miss the next three domestic games including Sunday’s FA Cup tie against Fulham but will be available for the Europa League games against Real Sociedad.
Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot will need to step up till then while Amorim will also hope Leny Yoro can continue his growth in the left centre-back role moving forward.
Feature image Alex Livesey 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
