Manchester United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir endured something of a nightmare as Turkiye were beaten 3-0 by Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal on Saturday.
Euro 2024 continues and a handful of Manchester United players have been in action in recent days.
Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund helped Denmark pick up a 1-1 draw against England on Thursday, with both starting the game.
Kobbie Mainoo was an unused substitute in that game and the attention turned to Saturday’s clash between Turkiye and Portugal.
Bruno Fernandes featured alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in the Portugal starting lineup, though Diogo Dalot was only on the bench.
Gary Neville on Manchester United’s Altay Bayindir
There was even some United representation in the Turkiye side as Altay Bayindir was brought into the starting lineup.
Besiktas stopper Mert Gunok started against Georgia in midweek but a knock handed Bayindir a chance to shine between the sticks.
The former Fenerbahce man only made one appearance in his debut campaign for United and he almost became something of a forgotten man behind Andre Onana.
Turkiye boss Vincenzo Montella still rates Bayindir very highly though and was more than happy to give him an opportunity against Cristiano and co.
The afternoon turned into a nightmare for Bayindir though as Turkiye not only lost 3-0, but he was involved in a truly calamitous goal.
With Turkiye already 1-0 down, Bayindir came off his line to collect a loose pass, only for defender Samet Akaydin to pass the ball back, completely unaware that Bayindir was advancing.
The ball rolled over the line as Bayindir made a desperate sprint back in vain, leaving Turkiye 2-0 down before Bruno Fernandes added number three.
Bayindir was not entirely to blame in this situation but Gary Neville wasn’t exactly impressed.
The former United defender told ITV that he felt that it ‘very rarely ends well’ when a goalkeeper rushes out whilst the ball is close to a defender.
Neville feels that Bayindir should have stayed on his line and allowed his defender to deal with the danger, but did point out that Akaydin didn’t even look before passing the ball.
Neville will have been hoping to see Bayindir shine given his United ties, but felt that his decision to come off his line was a ‘really bad one’ as Turkiye were beaten comfortably.
“The defender doesn’t look where the goalkeeper is and I have to say, when a goalkeeper converges when there’s not a lot of space between the ball and the defender, it very rarely ends well,” said Neville. “It’s a poor cocktail and I have to say, the goalkeeper really should stay where he is.”
“I don’t think the defender actually ever looks at the goalkeeper, because the keeper actually comes out quite early, he makes that decision to come and it’s a really bad one for Turkiye; like I say, it very rarely ends well when a goalkeeper and a defender converge on each other,” he added.
Bayindir future still feels unclear
United only signed Bayindir last summer, striking a deadline day deal worth around £4.3million.
Bayindir went from being first choice at Fenerbahce to barely featuring at United, which will have surely been a strange adjustment.
United surely still have some faith in Bayindir but there are some doubts around his future.
Speculation has linked Bayindir with a move back to Turkiye with Trabzonspor, but they completely denied a deal being in place.
Conflicting rumours have emerged about United’s interest in Genoa goalkeeper Josep Martinez and other stoppers have been mentioned.
Ajax’s Diant Ramaj and Columbus Crew’s Patrick Schulte are two of the names suggest in recent times.
Rumours of United looking at potential goalkeeping additions seems a little odd after signing Bayindir last summer and he may be looking for some clarity on his role at Old Trafford.