The mark of an elite player is not that they never fail, it’s how they respond to a failure, and according to that marker, Manchester United have a truly elite player in the ranks.
It’s no secret that the scrutiny that follows Man Utd is unmatched in England, and rivalled probably only by Real Madrid and Barcelona in world football.
Any mistake at Old Trafford sounds the death knell of a player’s career, and any goal deems the player as the saviour who will cure everything.
In such a land of extremes, one player has shown remarkable mental resilience to come back from his worst game in a Man United shirt and go on his best run of form to solidify his leap into elite territory.
Leny Yoro’s game to forget at Man Utd
Leny Yoro is the player Ineos broke their transfer philosophy for, so his potential and talent were never in any question.
The doubt was regarding his readiness for the Premier League, especially at a club like Manchester United, where everything is magnified.
Yoro has been tipped for greatness for a long time, even by Ruben Amorim, but the biggest setback to his trajectory came back in January.
United were facing relegation-threatened Southampton at home and were staring down the barrel of an embarrassing defeat at Old Trafford.
Amad’s late hat-trick saved Amorim’s blushes, but Southampton’s Kamaldeen Sulemana ensured Yoro would never forget that game.
Sulemana’s pace and trickery had Yoro on skates that day, with the winger going directly at the Frenchman every time he picked up the ball.
Yoro was eventually relieved of his misery in the 82nd minute, which was, coincidentally, when United’s comeback began.
The spotlight was on Yoro after getting taken to the cleaners by Sulemana. How would he respond?
Like a star, was the answer.
Yoro builds greatness from the hubris of his worst game
That Southampton game remains fresh in the memory because of the visuals that endure from the game.
The sight of Yoro getting too close to Sulemana for a challenge before being skinned by the winger was enough to leave the defender nauseous.
However, the Frenchman did anything but hide. In fact, he picked up the pieces from the game and used them to build his foundation of greatness.
As per Statman Dave on X, since that infamous game, Yoro has gone into 21 challenges and managed to come out on top a remarkable 18 times.
Yoro’s leap isn’t just signified with this statistic, as he has also developed a brilliant passing range and overlapping abilities to make him ideal for the wide centre-back role.
He started as the wide centre-back in the game against Southampton, and that experience clearly forced him to grow quickly.
To do all of that during a time when the club is undergoing its worst period in Premier League history is nothing short of extraordinary.
He’s taken a leap into elite territory.
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