Rio Ferdinand praises Tyrell Malacia for achieving 'difficult' challenge
FT Desk
- 26 Aug 2022 16:05 BST
- 3 min read
Former Manchester United star Rio Ferdinand has praised Tyrell Malacia's impact since arriving at the club, while warning that Luke Shaw will find it difficult to oust the new man at left-back.
United manager Erik ten Hag turned to Malacia for Monday's clash against Liverpool after seeing his charges fall to consecutive defeats at the start of his tenure.
He was rewarded with a much-improved performance as the Red Devils battled to a 2-1 victory which finally got them on the board in the Premier League and lifted much of the gloom which had descended on Old Trafford.
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Malacia, 23, managed to shackle Liverpool star Mohamed Salah in his first competitive United start and looked very comfortable at the back, in stark contrast to Shaw's struggles against Brentford and Brighton as the Reds backline shipped six goals in just two halves of football.
And Ferdinand believes that the England international is now firmly second choice behind the ex-Feyenoord man.
“Luke Shaw’s going to have to do something to get back in this team now,” Ferdinand explained on his Rio Ferdinand Presents FIVE YouTube channel.
“In a time when confidence has been at a low ebb, he’s [Malacia] come in and been very confident immediately. It’s difficult to do that in a team like this.”
The new Evra?
Ferdinand went on to compare the newcomer with another United favourite after his brilliant full debut.
"Malacia today was tremendous, outstanding. He reminds me of Patrice Evra in many ways," he said.
"He’s athletic, he looks like a pound-for-pound strong kid.
"There aren’t many left-backs in European or world football in the last four or five years who have gone out of a game and kept Mohamed Salah quiet."
