Hag’s “unpopular” was shining. Raphael Varane secured an unexpected point at Anfield

You are sovereignly the best and most experienced stopper on the team, yet the coach decides to shut you down, not play you and prepare you to leave the club. But then a critical game comes along where he needs you. A half-assed performance for a sulk? Don’t expect that from Raphael Varane!

Raphael Varane has already started against Bayern Munich. Although the Red Devils were under enormous media pressure, the French stopper kept a hopeful goalless draw for a long time. In the end, however, they went down 0-1 and were relegated from the Champions League.

But it was to be a very different game at Anfield. Not that Bayern didn’t try, but they had already secured first place and basically had nothing to play for. And for Varane, it was his second start in the starting lineup in the last nine games. Bayern and Liverpool are not the ideal warm-up.

Moreover, Manchester United had a negative fresh experience at Anfield, a 0:7 debacle. They travelled to the stadium with one of the most stormy atmospheres in England without captain Bruno Fernandes, moreover, with only one point gained from the previous nine away games on the ground of Top 9 teams.

Nevertheless, Varane made a fierce grab for game time and was instrumental in stopping the Reds’ sharp attack early in the game. Excellent positionally, he also kept an eye on the young Kobbie Mainoa and helped him to keep the pressure off the tough atmosphere.

He won four aerial duels throughout the match, took the ball away from his opponent 15 times and acted as a natural leader. The fans were entertained as he celebrated each successful tackle. Whoscored, the statistics website, gave him a grade of 8. Only Andre Onana was better.

Yahoo Sports even gave him a score of nine, the best of any player. He wrote: “It was an exceptional defensive performance. Positionally he was excellent and won a lot of tackles, balls in the air and had a few blocks which he celebrated as a goal.”

Varane was simply the lynchpin of Manchester’s quest for a point. He raised several questions with his excellent performance. Will Erik ten Hag give the Champions League, Euro and World Cup winner another chance? And will the Frenchman even stand for it?

Source: Whoscored, Yahoo Sports