By Sam Preston

Aaron Wan-Bissaka handed two-match European suspension

Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s European ban has been extended to two Manchester United Champions League games.

He will now miss Wednesday’s game against Villarreal and the home match with Atalanta on 20 October.

The decision seems harsh and we’ve had a look at four questions which have now sprung up…

Why the harsher sanction?

The challenge wasn’t especially reckless or malicious.

There was even a debate to be had over whether it was a red card, but once the referee had made that decision, it seemed a fairly cut-and-dried one game ban.

It’s hard to see where the grounds for the extra game of suspension have come from.

Why wasn’t de Bruyne sent off?

Kevin de Bruyne made a near identical tackle in Manchester City’s defeat to Paris Saint-Germain last night and was only handed a yellow card.

It’s clear there is not a consistent zero-tolerance approach around this from UEFA.

How one of those tackles can be a two-game ban and the other not even a red card is confusing.

Can Dalot take his chance to shine?

Diogo Dalot was already set for a huge night against Villarreal, arguably the biggest game of his United career so far.

Now, he’ll get two bites of the cherry and is likely to be called upon against Atalanta next month too.

That’s a real opportunity for the Portugal international to show what he can do.

He’s a more attacking option than Wan-Bissaka but will need to show defensive solidity in both huge clashes too.

Will United regret not signing Trippier?

Kieran Trippier was mentioned throughout the summer as a United target.

The move was never that close to happening, with United always prioritising other areas and then signing Cristiano Ronaldo.

But if it had, United would have had an experienced, international right-back to call upon for two crucial games.

Dalot has the quality to step up, but if he doesn’t, perhaps not signing Trippier will come under the microscope more and more.

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Sam Preston

Sam Preston is an NCTJ gold standard news and sports journalist who studied with the Press Association. He also has a 2:1 law with French law degree from the University of Birmingham, which included a year studying at Bordeaux Montaigne University. He is an FA Level 1 football coach who appeared on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show in 2018 and has also written digital football content and match-day programme pieces for Colchester United, Mansfield Town and Stockport County.