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When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke earlier this week about the ‘different demands’ he places on Dean Henderson compared to the goalkeeper’s time at Sheffield United, the ability to pass the ball from the back was certainly one of them.
It made what happened on his return to Bramall Lane with Manchester United on Thursday night even more horrifying for Henderson.
The 23-year-old made a single mistake that led to Sheffield United conceding a goal in the Premier League last season, allowing Georginio Wijnaldum’s volley to twist between his legs in a 1-0 loss to Liverpool. .
It took England’s new goalkeeper less than six minutes to make another after being selected to start against his former club in place of David de Gea.
You felt like the Blades knew something we didn’t know about their former teammate when no less than four players crowded around him in the six-yard box in an early corner.
And when Henderson received a back pass from Harry Maguire, another Blades elder, shortly after, Oliver Burke was prepared to shut down the United goalkeeper as quickly as possible.
He did it, taking advantage of Henderson’s indecision to block the punt and then tap the ball for David McGoldrick to score on an empty net.
It was a terrible moment for Henderson and his coach, who made the decision to hand over United’s No. 2 goalkeeper in his second league start for the club since returning from two impressive seasons on loan at Bramall Lane.
Not that Henderson knew what was coming. “If we think we can shoot here and score three points easily, we have something else ahead of us,” he said before kickoff. “Sheffield United is going to fly out of the traps.”
Henderson played a role in United’s draw in their only other start at West Ham 12 days earlier when VAR failed to prove their booming punt went out of play before Bruno Fernandes set up Paul Pogba to score.
But he got into a real mess here. To be fair, he had little chance with McGoldrick’s second and then landed a nice save from Lys Mousset to preserve the win. But the image of that first goal will endure.
We’ve heard a lot about Henderson and how he won’t be happy sitting on the bench. There is no shortage of self confidence.
Since rejoining United in the summer, he has signed a new contract, made his Champions League debut and became an all-time England international.
But this was a reminder to all of us that Henderson still has work to do before he can be considered a real threat to De Gea.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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