Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim jumped to the defence of goalkeeper Altay Bayindir after his error saw the Red Devils slump to an opening weekend defeat against Arsenal.
Bayindir started in place of the injured Andre Onana as the Gunners descended on Old Trafford looking to get off the mark with a win in their first Premier League outing of the new season.
Mikel Arteta's side gained notoriety for their set-piece prowess last season and it was a first half corner which produced the game's decisive moment as Riccardo Calafiori headed home the only goal of the game.
"A magical Arsenal set piece" 🪄
Riccardo Calafiori opens the scoring for the Gunners! pic.twitter.com/a1m2uj2cfE
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 17, 2025
Arsenal defender William Saliba had eased himself towards the United stopper as the delivery was whipped in, and the Turkish international could only manage to flick it left-handed before Calafiori followed the ball in and nodded home from a yard out.
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Bayindir's positioning for the corner sparked a huge debate in the Sky Sports studio with Roy Keane hugely critical of Bayindir saying "come with violence".
"You get in his face!"
Roy Keane says Man United were not aggressive enough in defending the corner that Arsenal scored from 🔊 pic.twitter.com/Y5OJWjXyTG
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 17, 2025
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United went on to endure a frustrating afternoon as Arsenal held out for a 1-0 win, but afterwards boss Amorim was keen to deflect criticism away from his goalkeeper.
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Amorim: "I am happy with the three goalkeepers"
The Portuguese coach instead focused more on the rules around set-pieces, explaining his side ought to be more physical and indulge more in the shoving matches so often seen before deliveries into the box.
"You're allowed to do a lot of things in the corner, we need to do the same," Amorim said during his post-match press conference.
"When you touch that way the goalkeeper he needs to use his hands to catch the ball, not push players, or he chooses to push players and let the ball past.
"It is the rules, it is allowed and we need to do the same thing. I am saying you choose to push a player or to get the ball, he chose to get the ball but he didn’t push so he cannot defend it.
"That is my feeling when I see the play but again, we need to do the same thing."
Bayindir's corner kick struggles immediately prompted call-backs to last season's 4-3 Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham, a game he started and one which saw Son Heung-Min score directly from a corner kick.
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However, Amorim remained defiant and claimed a foul would have been called in his 'keeper's favour if VAR had been in operation for the cup clash - while he also gave a reminder of Bayindir's penalty shootout heroics against Arsenal in the following round of last year's cup fare.
He also seemed deeply perplexed when asked if he'd considered starting Tom Heaton over the Turkish 'keeper.
"He suffered a goal like this where? Against Tottenham? It was without VAR. With VAR it was a foul," Amorim said.
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"Then in the next game against Arsenal, who saved the penalty? Who saved the game? You don’t remember the game but I remember the game and Altay was unbelievable in that game. I considered everything to put in one or another and I chose Altay…
"I am happy with the three goalkeepers."
Ruben Amorim is fully behind Altay Bayindir despite a costly error against Arsenal.#BBCFootball #MUFC pic.twitter.com/Spr0pB3z7L
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) August 17, 2025