It is hard not to feel sorry for Eric Bailly at Manchester United. Jose Mourinho's gloomy declaration of despair over his ability to take a spot kick, when it was in fact Phil Jones who had missed on Tuesday against Derby in the League Cup, seemed a final indignity.
Since the utter capitulation at Brighton in August, the Ivory Coast international has not started a league game for the Red Devils. Conversely, Victor Lindelof, his partner on that miserable afternoon, has been given the opportunity to redeem himself—the message is clear: it is Bailly who has been made the scapegoat for a team-wide underperformance.