Manchester United centre-half Willy Kambwala made only his second start for the club during the 2-2 draw against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.
The 19-year-old was called into the starting lineup with the likes of Raphael Varane, Jonny Evans, Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez all sidelined with injury.
Kambwala was chucked into the deep end by manager Erik ten Hag but he acquitted himself well and fans on X were quick to praise his performance after the game:
He looked like the 80m centre back
— J A K E (@JakeNo1an) April 7, 2024
Great performance
— Aliyu Sharif (@AliyuSharif) April 7, 2024
Looks like a proper player. A modern day CB
— 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐫 (@UtdEra_) April 7, 2024
Fantastic. At least an 8 out of 10
— Mike (@mikeleigh33) April 7, 2024
very impressive against a very tough side
— cody ¹ ¹¹ | RED BULL 1-2 🇧🇭 (@codytyler_mv1) April 7, 2024
Very very good and must be kept playing .
— edwin farrugia (@edwinfarrugia) April 7, 2024
Very impressive
— Ann Uzoamaka (@AnnUzoamak54521) April 7, 2024
Massive. Fair play. He really stepped up. Ten Hag is coaching these young reds through. That’s what man United is all about
— BenRamos (@BenRamsdale11) April 7, 2024
Top notch
— JB (@JB__United) April 7, 2024
Kambwala stood up to the plate
The Frenchman’s centre-back partner Harry Maguire took to Instagram after the match to praise the youngster’s “magnificent” display.
It wasn’t a perfect game from Kambwala, who did make a mistake to let Luis Diaz in on goal, but he made a perfect recovery tackle to make amends.
United’s defensive injury crisis
The Red Devils currently have no less than six first-team defenders on the injury list. As well as the players already mentioned, left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are also currently unavailable. It’s not been an easy situation for ten Hag to deal with.
It is hoped that both Varane and Evans won’t be out for long spells but ten Hag will be very happy that Kambwala put in a good display in their absence at the weekend.
