Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens has shared his reaction to Carlos Baleba’s debut for the club.
Baleba impresses
Baleba finally made his United bow on Saturday, as he and his teammates were held to a 1-1 draw by Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
Dominic Solanke scored in stoppage time to cancel out Bryan Mbeumo’s 73rd-minute strike.
Baleba was introduced in the second half to replace Youri Tielemans, who endured a tough game in the middle of the park. The Cameroonian wasted no time in making his mark.
From winning the ball to recycling possession, from creating chances to dictating the midfield, Baleba delivered a composed, authoritative display that justified the hefty fee United paid Brighton & Hove Albion.
The United summer signing earned praise from Michael Carrick in the post-match press conference. Baleba has since fired a message to the United faithful, expressing his delight at making his dream appearance for the club despite the disappointing result.
Lammens spoke to reporters after the final whistle and praised Baleba’s impact as well as that of the other substitutes.
Lammens hails Baleba
Lammens remarked, “Yeah, it’s very important. One of the good things about today was, of course, them coming in and helping us out a lot – everyone could see it.”
“We needed that extra spark a little bit in the end, that fresh legs. And I’m very happy for them as well that they could show themselves, but that’s what we’ve been seeing every day on training as well, so for us it’s nothing new.”
“We know we have a very deep squad. So yeah, those people are going to have to step up as well this season, and I’m happy they were able to do that today.”
The Belgian shot-stopper said of Carrick’s tactical changes at half-time, “I think in the first half, everyone could see that we needed to be better with the ball and without the ball. They had a very good, and technically a very good plan to try to press us, which was difficult to get out of. Then in the halftime, you see we made some changes tactically, also a couple of players maybe coming in who helped us out as well.”
“And then you can see you pull the game towards you, you have the feeling you’re in control of the game. So yeah, next time we need to try to start the game like that and straight away, especially in here, we need to be able to press their team and we need to be able to control the game.”
On United’s upcoming tough run of games, Lammens explained, “I mean, you can look at it both ways, to be honest. We know there are a lot of games coming very fast. After a disappointment, you can take that disappointment with you, or you can get it changed real quick and know there’s a game coming up very quickly. For me personally, if I maybe don’t have the best game, I’m looking forward to the next game to get that sour feeling out of my mouth.”
“So I think that’s what the feeling we have to get. We know we showed a lot of good things as well today, so take those things and learn from the bad things. And yeah, like you say, there are a lot of very important games, but we also love to play those games.”
“We fought last year to be in the Champions League, so we’re very happy to be there. And if you want to go far in that competition as well, you have to win those games as well.”
United are next in action on Tuesday when they go away to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
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