Ayden Heaven had been underused by Michael Carrick over the past three months, but Manchester United has a new first name on the teamsheet.
Heading into this clash at Stamford Bridge, Manchester United had a defensive crisis, leaving Ayden Heaven as the only senior centre-back available.
Michael Carrick paired Heaven with Noussair Mazraoui, and it turned out to be exactly the right decision from the head coach.
United picked up a 1-0 win over Chelsea, with Heaven’s performance at centre-back a big reason behind the three points. Now Heaven’s teammates have been hailing him.
WHO was your MAN OF THE MATCH against Chelsea?
A massive performance and victory…
Manchester United players celebrate
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Ayden Heaven dribbling with the ball during Chelsea v Manchester United
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire send messages to Ayden Heaven
Bruno Fernandes praised Heaven after the win, hailing him as a massive talent after a superb performance at centre-back.
After the game, Heaven took to Instagram with two photos of him tackling Liam Delap with a crunching tackle that he threw himself into with no hesitation.
The top-class defending earned praise from his teammates, who flooded the replies.
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Luke Shaw wrote, “I love you Heaven”, to which the defender responded, “I love u brother”.
Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo had similar reactions as they posted GIFs of a dog barking and a man barking, respectively, implying Heaven has the dog in him, metaphorically suggesting he can fight.
Shea Lacey also loved this post as he commented with a laughing and clapping emoji.
On the official United Instagram page, there was a post of Heaven and Zirkzee celebrating together.
Under this, Harry Maguire left his reaction, which was to comment a fire emoji and a rock emoji.
How good was Ayden Heaven against Chelsea?! What a performance!
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Heaven has proven he is ready to be Manchester United’s first choice
Heaven hasn’t played anywhere near enough football since Michael Carrick’s arrival, but with his performance against Chelsea, he proved he deserves more.
Given that Heaven was brilliant against Chelsea, he has shown Carrick he was dead wrong to ignore him, and actually, the 19-year-old is more than ready to be first choice in that left-centre-back position.
Heaven does everything well, from ball carrying to passing to tackling and duel-winning. He is a perfect central defender in the making, and United needs to start treating him as the talent he is.
United putting Lisandro Martinez as the starter makes sense due to his talent when available, but waiting for the Argentine to put his injuries behind him shouldn’t be an option anymore because every return is temporary for him.
Heaven offers much of what Martinez does already, and he would develop so much quicker if given the chance to play weekly. To see out this season, Heaven needs to partner with Harry Maguire.
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