Eric Bailly put in a towering performance for Manchester United against Atalanta.

With Harry Maguire hapless and error prone, it was up to Bailly to bail the team out.

Bailly showed quick reactions in the first half to deny Duvan Zapata a clear goal when Paul Pogba had given the ball away.

Atalanta v Manchester United: Group F - UEFA Champions League
(Photo by Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)

The Ivorian was making just his second start of the season and playing his first minutes since September.

RONALDO NEEDS TO STOP WHINING.

That made his performance even more impressive. Bailly made four interceptions, more than any United player.

The centre-back sent a message on social media expressing his delight at being back in the team.

Bailly is a popular player and his performances make it easy to see why.

In reaction to his post on Instagram, Diogo Dalot and Juan Mata both praised his display, as did former teammates Joel Pereira and Marcos Rojo.

Bailly’s performance makes you wonder what the result would have been if Solskjaer had just played him instead of a clearly injured Harry Maguire against Leicester City last month.

Maguire was partly at fault for all four of Leicester’s goals.

This performance will hopefully encourage Solskjaer to put a little more trust in Bailly. He deserves it.

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