Revealed: Wan-Bissaka's toughest opponent as a Red

Tuesday 07 April 2020 12:14

In his now weekly blog for Manchester United supporters, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has identified Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling as the toughest opponent of the season so far.

Our buccaneering right-back has faced the livewire forward on four separate occasions this campaign and the first was back in December, during our sensational 2-1 victory at the Etihad Stadium, where Aaron made seven clearances of the ball, won five tackles, blocked four crosses, made two interceptions and, as a result of all that, earned the Man-of-the-Match prize from our supporters. 

Wan-Bissaka's second duel against Sterling arrived in January when United unfortunately suffered a 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford in our Carabao Cup semi-final first leg, yet the third battle versus Raheem some three weeks later was much more positive, as the Reds secured a battling 1-0 away victory. 

Aaron's fourth match against Sterling was arguably his best, after 'The Spider' impressively registered eight tackles on an electric afternoon at Old Trafford. Statistics show his opponent lost possession 23 times, which was in no doubt due to the constant pressure he faced from our no.29.

If you watch one video today, make sure it’s this compilation...
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Watch some of Wan-Bissaka's outstanding tackles against Man City this season.
RESPECT FOR A TOP OPPONENT

When asked about his toughest opponent so far by Twitter user @iam_danstix, Wan-Bissaka is full of praise for Sterling as he explains exactly why he enjoys facing the England international so much. 

“I’d say Raheem Sterling; those are the battles I’ve enjoyed the most,” writes Aaron in his second weekly blog. “He keeps going, just keeps on coming at you. It doesn’t matter if he doesn’t get past you in one challenge, he keeps coming back for more every time. That’s what I like. 

“I’ve been happy with my performances in both league derbies and the results both times were just what we needed. The second one was just before lockdown, and that was an incredible afternoon. We were prepared for that game and we showed that as a team on the pitch. When Scott scored the second goal, the whole stadium just went off and you could see what it meant to everyone.”
SECOND IN THE LEAGUE TABLE

According to records kept by the Premier League, Wan-Bissaka has made 99 tackles in the top-flight so far this season and that is the second highest of any player across the division. 

Leicester City's Ricardo Pereira is in first position, with an excellent 119 tackles to his name, but our man remains determined and will hopefully finish the campaign on top of the pile. 

In his latest blog, when asked how he got so good at tackling by @BrazyBissaka, Aaron writes: “I want to say I worked on it, but at first I think it was just natural. 

“Even when I was an attacker coming up at Palace, my tackling was noticed then too. I don’t think I really knew how good I was at it until I started taking it seriously. These days I work on it a lot more!”

Wan-Bissaka's diary: Why I'm tackling my brother!

 Article

Aaron writes about sibling rivalry, supporting the NHS and watching old games, before answering your questions.

ASK AWB – YOUR QUESTIONS NEEDED

Each week during his stint as our guest contributor, Aaron will be answering supporters’ questions, so visit Twitter and post your questions using the hashtag #AskAWB and check back next week to see if yours was answered.

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