Manchester United defender Willy Kambwala put in a strong performance on his second career start against title-challenging Liverpool.
An injury crisis has thrust young defender Willy Kambwala into the spotlight at Manchester United.
While every game brings its own challenge and scrutiny at a club of United’s magnitude, there is a famous saying in football ‘you are only as good as your last game’.
And if you apply that to Kambwala, well, he’s a star. The teenager shone in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool and was lauded by Rio Ferdinand as man of the match.
Willy Kambwala best moments v Liverpool
Willy Kambwala’s performance was one of the topics of discussion on MUTV’s The Debate.
The 19-year-old was praised by pundit Ben Thornley, who explained exactly what he liked about the defender’s performance.
There was a moment which really caught his eye in the first half when he tried to intercept a long ball upfield, missed it, and then chased down Darwin Nunez and blocked his shot.
If Kambwala mistimed his challenge, he would have given away a penalty, and we have seen that before, where players over-eagerly try to make up for an error and double down. In an important moment, he got it exactly right.
Speaking to MUTV, Thornley explained: “Fantastic performance, it really was. To come into a game of that magnitude and perform the way that he did…
“The only mistake that he made, he rectified when he chased Nunez down and made what was potentially you know, a heart in mouth moment, it was perfect.
“Listen, all players make mistakes on the pitch, everybody from from the worst to the best that played have made mistakes on the pitch, but it’s how you respond and how you recover from them, and he did that straight away.
“I thought some of his tackles were brilliant. Everything that he did was really positive. I thought it was a magnificent performance. It really was.”
Kambwala pace shines in performance
The reason Willy Kambwala was able to make his perfectly timed challenge was his pace. Nunez had a clear headstart, yet the Manchester United defender was able to chase him down.
The speed he was going made it even more impressive that he timed his tackle so well, he was in total control of his actions despite running at a rapid pace.
Kambwala has the toolset to be a top defender. He is physically imposing, reads the game well with his positioning, and as we saw at the weekend, is very fast.
United are looking to tie him down to a new contract, and he could have a big long-term future at the club.
First, more opportunities await this season, including a potential appearance in theFA Cup semi-final.