Man Utd’s costly blunder summed up with ‘I can’t defend him’ statement

Manchester United were beaten by Arsenal on Sunday with Altay Bayindir’s error leading to the winning goal as the goalkeeper continues to cop criticism for his blunder

Former Premier League goalkeeper Joe Hart admits he wanted to leap to the defence of Altay Bayindir after his error for Manchester United – but simply couldn’t justify his blunder.

The Turkish shotstopper was given a rare opportunity with Andre Onana still out but failed to take his chance and his early mistake ultimately proved costly in the result as Arsenal left Old Trafford with all three points.

Bayindir failed to deal with a Declan Rice corner and, whilst he was under pressure, could only flap at the ball, which deflected into the path of Riccardo Calafiori who headed home the winning goal inside the opening 15 minutes.

Hart, who was a first choice for Manchester City and West Ham, was determined to try and defend his fellow goalkeeper but after seeing the replay was unable to find a justification as he criticised Bayindir for getting too involved with Arsenal defender William Saliba.

He said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “I immediately got ready to defend Altay Bayindir, and then I saw the first replay and thought, ‘I can’t defend him here’.

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“Personally, I like to have my own defender in front of me so I can use him as a shield against an attacker and that’s not the option they’ve gone for.

“Saliba has done enough, but not done too much. Ideally, he wants to punch that with his right hand. He has got far too involved and got lost and made a bit of a mess with it. It’s not a foul. Bayindir has got to scrap with his left arm to deal with Saliba and jab the ball away with his right.”

Amorim questioned the rules after he claimed Bayindir was potentially blocked off, but also issued a quick reminder of his quality by referencing his display in United’s FA Cup win at Arsenal last season. The Portuguese coach also knocked back the suggestion that the team need a new goalkeeper amid links with the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma and Emi MArtinez.

“We proved today that we can win any game in the Premier League, especially against a great team like Arsenal, and we were the better team. I’m happy with the three goalkeepers.”

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