As far as dream debuts go, Marcel Sabitzer's was less than ideal at Manchester United which made it all the more impressive.
With 15 minutes to go against Crystal Palace and a 10-man United up against the wall, the surprise deadline signing was thrown in at the deep end for his first taste of Premier League action. Sabitzer applied himself well in a wider role than he is accustomed to and brought much-needed energy and composure to a stressful situation.
Sabitzer has already made a good impression with his new teammates, with David de Gea predicting he's going to be very useful to the team.
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"He’s an experienced guy, he played a lot of games in the Bundesliga, he’s a nice guy, a very nice lad, it’s good for the dressing room," the goalkeeper told the Manchester Evening News following the win. "I think he showed in 15 minutes [against Palace], it’s not easy to come in a game when we’re one man less, he showed good spirit, I think he’s going to help the team a lot."
Erik ten Hag's side held on for a vital 2-1 win despite Casemiro's dismissal and it's one that looks even better after a weekend in which Manchester City, Newcastle and even Arsenal all dropped points. The title talk died down following the defeat to the Gunners but United are just eight points off the leaders with a lot of football to play.
Unfortunately, however, they are now without the crucial Casemiro for the next three games due to suspension, just as they were for that loss at the Emirates. Leeds and Leicester are obviously nowhere near as good as Arsenal but going into the games without the Brazilian lynchpin as well as the injured Christian Eriksen will be challenging.
But that's why Sabitzer was hastily recruited on deadline day. With Eriksen sidelined for at least three months, United recognised the need for quality reinforcements in midfield and that's what they got. But it was Fred who started against Palace instead and he did really well as he continued to enjoy his freedom to get forward but became resolute when the red was brandished.
Given the way the international teammates were playing alongside each other, it looked like Sabitzer would have to wait a while before he got his first start in the team but Casemiro's suspension has changed things. There's still a slight chance it could be overturned on an appeal but in all likelihood, it will be Fred and Sabitzer lining up against Leeds on Wednesday.
It's a first start that could come much sooner than expected and means we will soon see if De Gea's prediction is right or not. Going off what we've seen so far, it's looking likely to be bang on the money.
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