Role Of Dean Henderson In Luke Shaw’s Goal Deserves More Recognition

Manchester United continued their impressive league record against Man City under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with yet another derby win.

Before the 185th Manchester derby, City were on a run of 15 straight league wins with their last hiccup coming against the very same foe in the reverse fixture in December.

This time the Red Devils even bettered the Old Trafford result to register a 2-0 win over their rivals at the Etihad.

The early goal from the penalty spot set up the game perfectly for Solskjaer’s side, who thrive on exploiting spaces left by teams trailing scoreline.

In that regard, Dean Henderson played a crucial role in both ensuring a clean sheet and inspiring a second-half goal to ‘paint the city red’.

Henderson, who was covering the goal post for absentee David De Gea, was a commanding presence behind Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, giving the duo much-needed confidence against a relentless City attack.

In particular, his quick-thinking throw out to Luke Shaw minutes after the restart set the flying full-back on a run leading to the ball finding the back of Ederson’s net for the visitors’ second goal of the day.

Henderson role in that second goal shouldn’t go unrecognised.

— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) March 7, 2021

If Henderson gives me confidence, imagine what he does for #MUFC’s back four

— Jonathan Shrager (@JonathanShrager) March 7, 2021

 

In what was probably the biggest match of his career, the 23-year-old didn’t look out of place at all, and showed all the attributes expected of a Manchester United No. 1.

As such, with AC Milan set to visit the Theatre of Dreams mid-week for the Europa League clash, Henderson will be presented with one more high-profile opportunity to show his mettle.