Former Manchester United defender heaps praise on young midfielder
Former Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia has expressed his pride for young midfielder Hannibal Mejbri following a spirited display against Liverpool at Anfield on 19 April.
United were swept aside 4-0 by their arch-rivals. A brace from Mohamed Salah as well as strikes from Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane secured the win for the league leaders.
Jurgen Klopp’s side completely dominated the encounter, with many fans and pundits lamenting Manchester United’s perceived lack of effort and desire to get back into the game.
One player that did impress, however, was 19-year-old Hannibal, who came on to make his first senior appearance of the season in the 84th minute.
The Tunisian made an immediate impression by putting in some crunching tackles on Jordan Henderson and Naby Keita. Those seemed to fire up his teammates for the rest of the game, despite the contest being long over.
Despite giving the ball away for the fourth goal, Hannibal’s performance led to immediate calls for him to start in the Red Devils’ next game. And Valencia tweeted the following in response to his cameo:
“Today I’m proud of this boy.”
Since signing from Monaco in 2019, the midfielder has been patient for his opportunity in the first team. But the youngster has clearly impressed the former full-back, who played at Old Trafford for a full decade.
Gary Neville impressed by Hannibal during Manchester United’s dismal Liverpool display
The Anfield clash really demonstrated how far apart two of English football’s biggest clubs are right now.
Neville, another former United captain, couldn’t hide his disgust at the performance while on commentary for Sky Sports. But he felt a similar level of pride for the teenager.
Following the midfielder’s robust foul on Keita, Neville said as per the Manchester Evening News:
“To be fair, at least the kid’s showing something. Honestly, it takes a young kid to come on and show the rest of them how to sprint to the ball and put a challenge in. I’m actually proud of him.”Maybe he doesn’t like the idea of Liverpool passing around him, I wish the others were the same,” he added.
Following the one-sided contest, Neville clarified his comments, stating:
“He demonstrated something, he showed something. He didn’t like the idea of Liverpool, at Anfield, passing it around him and the idea of Liverpool taking the mick out of him and his team-mates.”At least he demonstrated something,” he went on. “I am not saying it is brilliant because he could have hurt the Liverpool players, but as a Manchester United fan you can respond to that.”
