MANCHESTER UNITED DEFENDER Eric Bailly has been ruled out of Ivory Coast’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) campaign due to medial knee ligament damage, the Premier League club have confirmed.
Bailly started a first Premier League game for United since February in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea but was withdrawn in the 71st minute.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed after the match that the 25-year-old would not feature again for his club this season and the damage is severe enough to mean Bailly cannot take part in Ivory Coast’s matches in Egypt when the 2019 continental tournament begins in June.
Ibrahim Kamara’s side have been drawn alongside Morocco, South Africa and Namibia in Group D.
This year brings an historic edition of the AFCON, with the tournament expanded to 24 teams – up from 16 in previous editions — and with matches moved from January and February to the summer months.
The change means the tournament will no longer conflict with the middle part of European domestic seasons, in which clubs from across the leagues have traditionally been affected by the loss of players at key moments in the season.
Sunday’s game against Chelsea was likely United’s last chance to take some control in the race to finish in the Premier League top four, and Solskjaer’s team looked set to take charge when Juan Mata scored against his old team to give the hosts the lead.
But a catastrophic error from goalkeeper David de Gea, who failed to hold on to a long-range effort from Antonio Rudiger, gifted Marcus Alonso the chance to equalise for Chelsea and retain their place in the Champions League places.
United now need big favours from other teams if they are to reel in Chelsea and Tottenham, as well as leapfrog fifth-place Arsenal, and move into the top four during the season’s final weeks.
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Norman Whiteside wasn’t 17 in 1985, unless he played in the 82 world cup when he was 14!
Cheers Graham,
I obviously got Norman Whiteside and Freddy Adu mixed up!
That 1970 match description is class.. “neutralised”
Your a gas man, Will
Wouldn’t consider that tackle to be a straight red nowadays, probably borderline. Back then….not even close, yellow at worst
Miss timed is all it was.I remember watching that game and being shocked when he was sent off.Disagree that it was on any way cynical, there isn’t a cynical bone in Kevin Moran’s body.
Yeah, definitely mis-timed. I blame Reid for having legs!
How times have changed…. You did not see Everton players swarm the ref demanding a red, Man U players were in shock….. Rightly so too, you saw these tackles every week and you got on with it…. Its a sending off and a media circus today, but back then it was, ummm football….. Tackles are expected, and was rarely ever cynical…….
Spot on Graham, sure even Peter Reid protested to the ref on behalf on Moran…..very rare you will see that nowadays.
Peter Reid actually begged the referee not to send Moran off. Frank Stapleton reverted to emergency centre half and had a stormer. Peter Willis was the referee and it was his last ever match to officiate. He was looking to make a name for himself. Years later the F.A. Stopped referees officiating in their last ever match in the cup finals.
‘With United down to 10, Everton took them to extra-time’, shouldn’t that be United took Everton to extra-time as the Toffees were just crowned league champions you know.
Also had more league titles than United! And had just won the cup winners cup beforehand!
Moran’s wasn’t allowed receive a winners medal that day either .
Forget the tackle. He’d get 6 months now for pulling & dragging out of the ref in protesting his innocence! Although he didn’t quite get to Di Canio levels…
Unusually it was an intercept of Paul McGraths pass that led to Kevin having to make the lunge.
Suberb tackle won the ball cleanly. Football is being destroyed these days by cheating, diving and every second tackle being either a yellow or red. Games these days are often decided by which team has a player sent off its a complete joke
Lol, everyone had common sense comments today till that…. Thought we might have a good thread…..
Badly timed don’t think tackles back then were cynical or malicious as they are today .
A proper challenge that! :D
Big Ron would have referred to the tackle as a ‘reducer’
This may be an urban myth and I am well open to correction but is it true that the first person to be sent off in the FA Cup final (Kevin Moran) and the first player to be sent off in the Premier League (Niall Quinn) both went to the same school (Drimnagh castle)??
If memory serves me, I was seven at the time, kevin Moran didnt get a winners medal on the day after his red card. He only received it after a campaign on his behalf.
Bit misleading. Why would you be considered the most cynical player in FA Cup Final history just because you were the first to be sent off in one? Moran was a tough ‘no prisoners’ player, but he was never cynical in his playing days.
If it was today Reid would be gone for simulation…
Most cynical ever? The writer obviously doesn’t remember Willie Young in 1980! Only a yellow too. I think that was the tackle that prompted the introduction of the straight red for a professional foul.
Good article Will, still very few being sent off in big games- Lehmens in 06 CL final, Reyes in 05 FA cup final-can’t think of any others. A few in World cup finals- two Argentinians in 1990, Desailly, Heitinga