Supporters will love what Antonio Rudiger called Manchester United defender Eric Bailly following his impressive cameo during the 4-0 victory over Liverpool.
In their first match with Erik ten Hag at the helm, United produced an eye-catching performance against their arch-rivals in Bangkok to get their pre-season tour off to a winning start. Ten Hag and his squad will now jet to Australia, before concluding their summer preparations in Norway.
Without retained captain Harry Maguire through injury, the United manager opted for an experienced starting XI which included Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof at centre-back. Ten Hag later turned to youth as well as giving chances to several fringe players.
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Bailly fits firmly into that bracket as things stand, but the Ivorian stood out after being summoned from the bench as goals from Jadon Sancho, Fred, Anthony Martial and Facundo Pellistri did the damage. Bailly more than played a part in Pellistri rounding off the scoring, too, with a dazzling run that sent fans wild on social media.
It wasn't the only digital praise Bailly got for his display, either, as Real Madrid star Rudiger - who signed for the La Liga champions this summer amid mooted interest from United - messaged the 28-year-old on Instagram.
Bailly uploaded several pictures from the Rajamangala Stadium and his social media post drew in some high-profile 'likes' and comments. Rudiger was among them as he simply labelled Bailly 'a beast'.
United were captained by Bruno Fernandes in the absence of Maguire and the Portuguese single-handedly made a point of commenting on several posts from his teammates. In response to Bailly, he replied 'what a player' as fellow United stars including Anthony Elanga also made a bee-line for the defender on social media.
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