Manchester United booked their place in the FA Cup final yesterday, with a narrow penalty shootout victory over an inspired Brighton and Hove Albion.
In a game of few clear chances, where defenders were well and truly on top, it came down to spot kicks to separate the two outfits. Solly March was the unfortunate casualty of such a cruel method, after a string of stellar penalties from both sides.
With the Red Devils boasting just 39% of the ball, they often were forced onto the back foot, finding most of their success on the counter. This put a considerable strain on their back four, who stood up to the challenge.
One standout that emerged, in particular, was Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who has admittedly endured a tumultuous career in Manchester since his £50m move.
The £90k-per-week full-back has come under scrutiny for his lack of offensive output, but boasting unparalleled solidity is a characteristic that cannot be ignored. This was showcased on the biggest stage yesterday, as the former Crystal Palace defender silenced any opposition man that tried to take him on.
How did Aaron Wan-Bissaka play vs Brighton?
Starting ahead of Diogo Dalot, who has also upped his game in recent weeks and scored in their latest Premier League success, the pressure was high on Wan-Bissaka to retain a standard for the Portugal international to beat. However, he has now reset the bar to even loftier heights.
His 7.4 average rating was only bettered by two of his starting teammates, and it was a testament to the faith Ten Hag showed in him that the full-back was only withdrawn after 101 minutes played, via Sofascore.
During that period on the hallowed Wembley turf, he would record just two tackles, one interception and one clearance, but it was his ground duels that truly caught the eye. Competing in six of them, he maintained a 100% success rate that led James Maddison to praise his compatriot.
He wrote on Twitter: “AWB is ridiculously good at 1 v 1 defending. Probably the best in the world bar none. So many wingers run out of ideas when playing directly against him.” A rave review from such a top attacker make this statement even more weighted.
Not only this, but Wan-Bissaka recorded 53 touches and would lose the ball just six times, affording him another 100% success rate in the four dribbles attempted too. It was truly a mesmeric all-round performance.
Considering just a year ago journalist Samuel Luckhurst had lambasted United’s “weak” right-hand side, of which the 6-foot ace was a big part of, this rise to playing a starring role in such big games is a meteoric turnaround of which Ten Hag deserves equal praise.