Ayden Heaven has been praised for his showing against Atletico Madrid, despite Manchester United falling to a 2-0 defeat last night.
The hosts opening the scoring inside the first 60 seconds of action meant United would be facing an uphill battle from the get-go.
United slump to a loss in second UCL group-phase fixture
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United dejected after Ademola Lookman of Atletico Madrid scores his team’s second goal (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
Michael Carrick’s men were unable to get back into the tie with a goal, and Atleti eventually extended their lead in the 79th minute courtesy of substitute Ademola Lookman.
The majority of #mufc fans left the stadium after Atletico's second goal [@ChrisWheelerDM] pic.twitter.com/C9QR5bUk2h
Heaven, meanwhile, was navigating an all-new role away from his usual comforts at the heart of defence.
The 20-year-0ld had been deployed at left-back in the absence of the injured Luke Shaw, with Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui also ruled out.
He occupied the left-hand side of the backline while Diogo Dalot started in his natural position at right-back.
How Heaven fared vs Atletico
Ayden Heaven of Manchester United heads the ball under pressure from Lee Kang-In of Atletico Madrid. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
At full-time, StatmanDave shared some insight into Heaven’s performance, confirming that the youngster recorded an 85 per cent passing accuracy, had 45 touches and won six duels.
He also made a whopping seven line-breaking passes and dispatched four passes into the final third, with the analyst adding that Heaven ‘comes out with credit’ when braced with a ‘difficult job’.
It remains to be seen if the former Arsenal prospect will retain his place on Sunday, when the Reds travel to Elland Road to face arch-rivals Leeds United.
Then, it’s another Champions League outing, as United will be travelling to Italy to take on Como next Wednesday in a 5.45pm kick-off.
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