Senne Lammens kept a clean sheet on his Manchester United debut as the Red Devils beat Sunderland 2-0 on Saturday.
It was a much-needed victory for Ruben Amorim’s men, lifting them back into the top half of the Premier League table pending the Sunday fixtures and helping banish the memory of last week’s 3-1 defeat to Brentford.
First-half goals from Mason Mount and Benjamin Sesko sealed the result, but it was United’s efforts at the other end that spoke louder, with this their first clean sheet in any competition this season.
Table of contents
Senne Lammens enjoys long-awaited Manchester United debut
A calming presence
Goalkeeper has arguably been the biggest problem position for Manchester United over the last few years, and one that has seriously hurt Amorim’s efforts to revive this fallen giant.
Since the start of last season alone, Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir have made a whopping nine errors leading to goals across all competitions. The former is responsible for six of them, while the latter has made three in just 16 appearances.
That’s exactly why United were linked so heavily with Emi Martinez and Gianluigi Donnarumma over the summer before settling on talented Belgian Lammens.
The 23-year-old watched on from the bench in three matches after joining from Antwerp before finally being given his opportunity here, and he took it brilliantly.
Lammens made three saves to keep a high-flying Sunderland side at bay, to the tune of 1.1 goals prevented. He did brilliantly to keep out a Bertrand Traore header worth 0.64 xGOT in the 33rd minute, just moments after Sesko made it 2-0, while he also acted swiftly to stop Chemsdine Talbi at the end to preserve a clean sheet and avoid a nervous finish.
The U21 international also commanded his box well for the most part, making 11 recoveries and two high claims — the latter even drawing chants of ‘are you Schmeichel in disguise’ from the Old Trafford crowd. That’s a bold claim at this early stage, but such are the low standards of goalkeeping set around these parts in recent years that Lammens’ performance stood out all the more.
There was one worrying moment, with Lammens racing out of his goal only to see Traore beat him to the ball amid confusion with Bruno Fernandes, but he got away with it.
But the incident did little to take away from what was a solid and assured debut, which clocked up a Squawka Score of 80% — the highest of any goalkeeper from Saturday’s action.
Amorim praises ‘comfortable’ Lammens
Lammens’ performance will come as a huge source of relief to Amorim, even if the manager consistently backed Onana and Bayindir publicly when they held the No.1 spot.
The Portuguese gave his new goalkeeper special mention during his post-match press conference, while also clarifying why it’s taken so long for Lammens to be given his opportunity.
“I think he looked confident in the first game,” said Amorim. “But the important thing is that the teammates helped Senne to have a good game. Because everyone was focused, not a lot of mistakes against a team that was really comfortable playing football.”
Asked why he delayed starting him, Amorim added: “He arrives and you can feel it that he needs to adapt. New country, new training, the pressure that you guys put on the goalkeepers are massive. So it was like a little preparation for the guy to be ready to start his first game.
“But now it’s just one game, and he needs to work. Because he needs to be prepared that in our club, things are really hard. But he did well in the game. He was comfortable during the game, and that is a very good sign.”
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Three key stats behind Senne Lammens’ Manchester United debut
- Senne Lammens kept a clean sheet on his Man Utd debut, which was the Red Devils’ first shutout of the season in any competition.
- The Belgian goalkeeper made three saves to the tune of 1.1 goals prevented.
- Lammens’ Squawka Score of 80% was the highest of any Premier League goalkeeper on Saturday.
What next for Lammens, Amorim and Manchester United?
Speaking after the match, former United captain Gary Neville remained critical of his old club and its manager.
Neville called for a stronger mentality at Old Trafford after Amorim accused pundits of affecting the confidence of his players ahead of kick-off.
“If pundits are getting into your head, then you shouldn’t be playing for the club,” said Neville, adding: “They’ve been hopeless in the system. If it’s not the system, then the players are a problem, the manager is a problem, the whole thing’s a problem if you’re losing football matches to the level that they’ve been doing.”
Neville concluded: “I think they just need to concentrate on doing their jobs and doing it well and winning football matches. The only thing that’s going to shut anybody up is winning football matches, and they’ve not won anywhere near enough.”
There were many reasons to take heart from Saturday’s win; a clean sheet, another Sesko goal, a fine performance from Mount and a competent defensive effort were chief among them.
But the tests only get more difficult from here for Lammens, Amorim and Man Utd.
Next up is a trip to defending champions Liverpool, who are a wounded animal with a point to prove after consecutive defeats to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray and Chelsea. After that, the likes of Brighton, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, Everton and Palace are all to come before we even think about December.
Nevertheless, Lammens’ performance on Saturday provided a calming platform for a much-needed result for Man Utd, who must now build on this positive step.