In the Round of 16 knockout round of the African Cup of Nations, Manchester United centre-back Eric Baii was a guest on a penalty spot, and his Ivory Coast eventually lost the penalty shootout and bid farewell to the big game. It is worth mentioning that this is the second time that Bai has become the outgoing sinner of the "Elephant Army".
Côte d'Ivoire and Salah's Egypt exchanged 0-0 in the 120-minute match, and In the penalty shootout, Bai was entrusted with a heavy responsibility, but he adopted an outrageous penalty mode. His penalties combine the characteristics of many well-known penalty players: only one step, like Jorginho; a small jump before starting to follow the example of teammate Bruno Fernandez; and another Firmino's signature "don't look at the ball" fake action, unfortunately, his final shot angle is too positive, the strength is too small, and was easily caught by goalkeeper Gabarsky.
The goalkeeper pounced in the right direction and although he jumped a little too far, the Manchester United Iron Guard's penalty was too slow, and he extended his left arm to still take the ball down. Salah then scored the winning penalty and in the end, Egypt beat Côte d'Ivoire 5-4 on penalties to advance to the quarter-finals and will compete with Morocco for a place in the semi-finals. Bai will have to leave with his teammates and he will return to Manchester United, but I am afraid that he will only be able to continue to serve as a substitute.
It is worth emphasizing that Bai actually played quite well in this game, because of the previous head injury, he wore rugby protective gear to participate in this game, helping the team to keep a clean sheet salah. However, as with Manchester United, Baris' biggest problem is that he always has wild moves that lead to mistakes.
When Mourinho was in charge of Manchester United in 2016, the first signing was the £30 million Bai, and the iron guard from Villarreal has the speed, body and fierce defense, which is considered the cornerstone of the Red Devils' future defense. However, he was prone to short circuits and too many injuries, causing him to gradually lose his position.
For example, in the Premier League double red club where Manchester United beat Liverpool 2-1 at home, Bary faced a cross that could have easily kicked out the bottom line, but tried to fly forward to break the gap, resulting in a oolong ball.
Fans were not surprised by his penalty kicks, with one spectator saying: "This is a routine operation for Bai, I thought he would use his heels to take a penalty!" Another United fan considered Bai to be a genius, a far-sighted move: "Bai sacrificed himself, conceded a penalty, Egypt continued to qualify, which means Salah will delay his return to Liverpool."
But for Bai, it was a tragic ending, which meant he had become the outgoing sinner in Côte d'Ivoire for two consecutive tournaments. In last summer's Olympic football match, the Ivorian Olympic Team was still ahead of Spain before the end of the game, but Bayi made a mistake, Oolong assisted the opponent to draw, and then sent points in extra time, and the Matadors finally reversed into the final and finally won the championship.
In the last 5 days of the winter transfer, Bai is also likely to leave Manchester United, Serie A AC Milan has always been interested in him, Ivorian iron guard is also willing to join, but now it depends on whether Manchester United is willing to rent first and then sell. Italy's Foot Mercato reported that Bayi's mentor, Mourinho, was also interested in signing him again, but Roma's negotiations with Bai were behind those of the Rossoneri. Whether it's Milan or Roma, Bai is willing to join because he will get more opportunities than at Manchester United.