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Manchester United defender Willy Kambwala has expressed his delight and joy after he made his first senior start at Old Trafford against Liverpool.
United played out a thrilling 2-2 home draw against their bitter rivals.
After a poor opening 45 minutes, Erik ten Hag’s men roared back to life in the second half and got their reward courtesy of goals from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo. The Merseysiders were awarded a late penalty after Aaron Wan-Bissaka was deemed to have illegally brought down Harvey Elliott inside the box. Mohamed Salah made no mistake from the spot kick to ensure both sides got a share of the points.
At times, United needed to be defensively resolute to keep Liverpool from breaching Andre Onana’s goal. The backline did well for large parts of the match and central to this was Kambwala.
He made his debut last year in December during a 2-0 loss to West Ham and amidst an injury crisis in the defensive department, he was thrust into the deep end against Liverpool.
The Carrington academy graduate surprised everyone and gave a good account of himself. He partnered Harry Maguire well and firmly dealt with the triple threat of Salah, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez.
Kambwala won 100% of his ground duels, made three clearances, registered two interceptions and put in one tackle.
One thing from the youngster’s game that caught the eye was how passionate and lively he was. On more than one occasion, he was seen pumping up the Old Trafford crowd and calling for more noise to encourage the team. The fans responded to him every time.
It was certainly a very mature display from the 19-year-old, who barely put a foot wrong.
Kambwala spoke to MUTV and reacted to his first senior start at the Theatre of Dreams. The Frenchman said, “I’m really proud of the game, of the team, of everyone, of all my team-mates as well. We didn’t take the three points, so it is still a bit frustrating and [I’m] disappointed about that because we know we should win the game. We had it under control.”
“We fought really well together. We stick together, we defend well at the back four with the keeper, with everyone, and we know we should keep the three points at the end, but, still, I am really proud of the game and what I could achieve.”
The Reds defender added, “It’s my job, it’s my passion. I know what I need to do on the pitch. I know I need to give everything from the first moment, to impress and to enjoy it.”
“That’s what I like to do. So yeah, it’s my passion. And I know, like every time I have the opportunity to be on the pitch, I need to give everything to leave everything on the pitch.”
Kambwala thanked Ten Hag and his coaching staff for giving him the opportunity to play in such a crucial game and show what he can do.
He finished off by saying that he looks forward to the future and the prospect of contributing more to United.
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