Ange Postecoglou provided insight into Rodrigo Bentancur’s mindset following yet another outstanding performance that culminated in a goal during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United.
Ange gave ‘Lolo’ the captain’s armband for our FA Cup victory against Burnley last week after he recovered ahead of schedule from his second injury setback in a year on New Year’s Day against Bournemouth. On his way back, he scored his first goal of the season with a stunning finish as we overcame a two-goal deficit at Old Trafford.
Rodrigo was the main force in the central areas as we commanded play for lengthy stretches of time, ghosting onto debutant Timo Werner’s feed to beat Jonny Evans in a tight space and blast his effort past Andre Onana.
When we needed to get on the ball and show some patience, he was terrific.
That made it 2-2 a minute into the second half, and it remained that way after United had twice led via Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford, with Richarlison thumping home our first equaliser.
When asked about Rodrigo’s performance after coming back from injury, Ange replied, “Yeah, outstanding.” He’s one, and based on the first diagnosis, he should still be out for a recuperation period.
“He approached me a few weeks ago and said, ‘Look, I want to help, I need to play, and I need to help these guys.'” He could see we were going through a tough period. It reflects his character. He is an exceptional individual.
“Part of the explanation for why I made him skipper in the last game was just to reward him for the person he is more than anything else, and again he was exceptional today, when we required to get on the ball and show some composure, he was outstanding and again he’s nowhere near his peak fitness or the level he wants to be, but he will get there, I know he’ll get there, and when he does he’ll be a fantastic asset over us to have in the team.”
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