Aaron Wan-Bissaka made his return to action for Manchester United in the Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle.
Last season in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley, Aaron Wan-Bissaka came on at half-time to replace Diogo Dalot, who was struggling up against Allan Saint-Maximin. But Manchester United were at least 2-0 up at the time, and the situation of having to defend played into Wan-Bissaka’s skillset.
Last night the situation was less pleasant. Dalot was even worse, and instead of being 2-0 up, Manchester United were 2-0 down.
Wan-Bissaka came into a team devoid of confidence, but for his part, he was pretty good when he came on, to make his first appearance since suffering an injury on September 16.
How Aaron Wan-Bissaka played
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was part of a double change with Sofyan Amrabat which gave Manchester United a little boost in the second half. But the team still went on to lose 3-0.
It is the attacking element of Wan-Bissaka’s game which has been criticised since his £50 million move from Crystal Palace in 2019. He has made some improvements in this area over the past year.
Wan-Bissaka created two goalscoring chances in the second half, the joint highest of any player on the pitch.
He completed 88 per cent of his passes, and won 100 per cent of his tackles. You would expect nothing less.
With Diogo Dalot showing signs of burnout, after playing every game this season so far, Wan-Bissaka’s return came at a good time.
Manchester United fans react
It was good for Wan-Bissaka to get 45 minutes under his belt and there is a good chance he will start against Fulham this weekend.
There was a positive reaction among Manchester United fans to his performance, even on a night where the mood was depressing.
One supporter wrote: “Wan-Bissaka has immediately made Manchester United look better. We missed him.”
Another added: “Great to see Aaron Wan-Bissaka back and looking good,” while a third fan said: “I’ve really missed Wan-Bissaka.”
A further comment on social media said: “40 minutes of Wan-Bissaka was better than the entire Man United squad.”
While another noted: “Wan-Bissaka only positive I guess, looked good and hopefully Dalot doesn’t touch the pitch for a while.”
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