Manchester United defender Raphael Varane made a welcome Premier League comeback to the heart of the team’s defence in the draw at Anfield on Sunday.
The defender won the player of the match award but was quick to show off the team spirit in the camp by crediting the entire backline for their efforts.
The Daily Express have drawn attention to an Instagram story that the 30 year old posted after Sunday’s credible draw and clean sheet.
The World Cup winner also tagged fellow centre back partner, Jonny Evans as well as keeper Andre Onana and full backs Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot. Additionally, in the post, Varane put an emoji of two swords, highlighting that he felt it was a team effort at Anfield rather than his individual excellence.
The defender put in a colossal performance and stood up when the team needed him most after the Red Devils’ faced 34 shots from the Liverpool attack. The defender had already made a return in a positive outing against Bayern Munich, despite the loss.
The former Real Madrid player’s season started at a flying pace as he kept a clean sheet and scored the winning goal on opening day against Wolves. However, he has had injuries and fallen down the pecking order at the club, at one stage clearly behind Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans. Apparently the player was furious to be left out of the Manchester derby. Consequently, the World Cup winner has even been linked to a move away from the club in the winter market.
Nonetheless, it seems that the Frenchman has won his place back for now in Erik ten Hag’s side and was a key component in the clean sheet at Anfield.
The Daily Express claims, “Liverpool were expected to run riot in Merseyside following their 7-0 success last season, but they hardly managed to create any clear-cut openings this time around”.
His manager also credited his performance but like Varane, also pointed out the teamwork required to achieve the result. The former Ajax coach stated, “we know what he is capable of and he has many such performances. I think he did very well, as the whole team did, [and] in the partnership with Jonny Evans, they were both leading the team from the back. I think also Andre Onana played a big part in it but I can mention all the players because it was really a team [performance].”
It is interesting as United have been criticised by pundits for having a team that is divided and not playing for the manager all season. Bruno Fernandes’ captaincy has faced a barrage of criticism by many for his childish complaining and lack of leadership. This could be seen in Troy Deeney’s pre-match assessment that the only positive thing he could envision for the Red Devils was the fact Fernandes was suspended.
Moreover, Scott McTominay also had to quell rumours recently about the dressing room and state there was no “toxicity” like at other times under different managers.
The Scottish international in fact stated that the dressing room is behind the manager this time around. It has been reported that there are 2 leakers in the camp but the vast majority of the team is said to be against the moles.
Furthermore, public displays of unity have been seen before Varane’s gesture on social media.
Bruno Fernandes was quick to award Jonny Evans his own player of the match award versus Burnley in September and the captain once again handed over his penalty duties to Marcus Rashford against Everton, to allow the Mancunian to break his two month goal drought.
Fans of the club will hope that despite the rumours, actions like Varane’s are genuine and a true reflection of the team spirit in the dressing room. With the team facing a seemingly uphill battle to qualify for the Champions League next year, a united house will certainly go a long way to helping the players achieve the club’s ambitions.
