Manchester United defender Eric Bailly is known for being a comedian at the club, even when he doesn’t mean to be.
The enigmatic Ivorian can be amazing, decisive and athletic but also infuriating and confusing in the space of one game – maybe this is why he has become a much-loved character at the club.
But despite his sometimes unusual defending styles, he has managed to bring smiles to the faces of United fans this season.
Even though he was injured for large parts of this season, he still managed to find time to make us chuckle.
Here are five times Eric Bailly brought a smile to United fan’s faces…
Harry Maguire’s big head
The advent of social media has brought fans closer to the lives of their favourite footballers than ever before, and where Eric Bailly is concerned, we can only be grateful.
After United’s massive 2-0 win against City in the Premier League at the Etihad this season, Bailly clued the rest of us in on what must be an in-joke at the Old Trafford camp.
Feeling euphoric after the victory against United’s rivals, Maguire posted on Instagram that it was ‘one for the fans’, but Bailly took it to the next level.
As was pointed out at the time, Bailly was not wrong about Maguire in that game, who made nine clearances in that game.
He just went about complimenting his captain in a typically hilarious way.
Unorthodox training methods
Speaking of heads, Bailly was snapped using his in an unusual way during a training session this season.
Showing off his strength, and also why he may be injured so much, Bailly was spotted with an exercise band around his head and his right leg.
Surely not where it is supposed to be…
Bailly is known for his dominance in the air, agility and acrobatics.
But he is also known for sometimes getting it wrong, which he did in the 4-0 romp against Real Sociedad in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Possibly feeling confident from the scoreline and sensing the opportunity for a rare spectacular goal, Bailly attempted an outrageous scissor-kick from a corner.
Had he pulled it off it would have been a goal of the season contender.
Bailly ended up missing the ball, but in doing so provided more fodder for his cannon of comedy clips.
Bailly’s big challenge
One thing that United fans love, and sometimes hate, is that Eric Bailly is not afraid to put in a huge tackle when he needs to.
The sometimes heart-stopping moments when Bailly goes to ground more often than not result in a a spectacular challenge.
And this was on display in United’s 3-0 victory in the EFL Cup round of 16.
Bailly put in a thumping challenge on Brighton winger Bernardo, something United have sorely missed this season as a result of his extensive injury periods.
Funny celebration
The man has been known to get a little overexcited at times, demonstrated his hilarious celebrating style in United’s 1-1 draw with AC Milan in the Europa League Round of 16.
Amad Diallo scored an exquisite first goal for Manchester United and his fellow Ivorian made sure the 18-year-old knew how happy he was about it.
Scenes.
- Man Utd fans all saying same thing about Andrey Santos after pre-season debut performance vs Wrexham
- Every former Man Utd player to play in MLS after Eric Bailly’s latest move
- Jason Wilcox has just shown why Amorim had to be sacked with pointed praise for Michael Carrick
- Newcastle’s £46m rejected bid proves that Man Utd have completed the best deal of the summer
- Michael Carrick might have provided a hint on Patrick Dorgu plans as transfer priority becomes clear
- Who is Tynan Thompson? Exciting Spurs wonderkid linked with move to Man Utd
- Ruben Amorim’s biggest wonderkid success story is ending brutally as Man Utd pre-season begins
- Dan Gore will hope for better Man Utd pre-season outing vs Wrexham than he had in 2023
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