Senne Lammens kept his second clean sheet for Man Utd on Boxing Day as Ruben Amorim’s side held on to beat Newcastle United 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Senne Lammens has had a good start to his United career
There were plaudits aplenty for Manchester United players on Boxing Day, particularly the defenders who had managed to dig in and preserve a backs-to-the-wall clean sheet that secured a 1-0 win against Newcastle. It was a win that temporarily moved them up to fifth and showed a different side to their game.
United had just 24% possession in the second half and had to do plenty of defending, with Ayden Heaven and Lisandro Martinez excellent. However, throughout the siege, there was a sense of calm that isn’t always associated with Ruben Amorim’s side, particularly when under pressure.
The return of Martinez might have helped in that regard, but 23-year-old goalkeeper Senne Lammens has also had an impact, even if his statistics aren’t yet making that clear after his £18.2million move from Royal Antwerp. This was just Lammens’ second clean sheet in 12 games.
His celebrations at the end showed he was desperate to get the shut-out and although he didn’t have to make any outstanding saves, he was secure in goal. There was one excellent claim under a high ball in injury time that relieved the pressure and earned him a pat on the back from teammates.
It was hard to imagine United defending with the poise they did had a different goalkeeper been behind the defence. Andre Onana’s form fell apart at Old Trafford and his inconsistency too often spread panic and uncertainty to his teammates. Altay Bayindir has had his moments, but has shown vulnerabilities under the high ball.
Lammens is still learning as a goalkeeper and has just 106 senior appearances to his name, with only 55 of those in Belgium’s Pro League before his move to United. It was a signing based on potential, but he has faced little competition in goal, and the improvement when he plays is clearer in the way his teammates have reacted to him than in the saves he has made.
That is something one of United’s greatest ever goalkeepers has noticed. Speaking before the Newcastle game, Peter Schmeichel was full of praise for Lammens.
“He’s only 23 years old, he’s come in and there’s calm at the back four, there’s not this chaos where they don’t want to pass him the ball back to him. They trust him. He seems a very, very confident young man,” Schmeichel told Viaplay.
“And also, one more thing I like about him is he is so quick in turning the game. So when he gets the ball, he’s not afraid of kicking the ball up the other end or throwing the ball up. Starting a counter-attack very quickly.
“I don’t think he pays too much attention to the results of the goals he conceded. I think he’s living a dream and everyday he comes in and he wants to learn and he wants to improve and I think he’s done really well.”
That calmness was a trait noted by Boxing Day matchwinner Patrick Dorgu. “I think he helped with his calmness,” he said. “He’s very calm and he’s talking a lot to the defenders and helping everyone on the pitch with his communication.
“He’s just calm and he tries to take responsibility to help us defenders as well. He came in well and he’s doing really well, so he just needs to keep going.”
Lammens is yet to make an error leading to a goal this season and, as Schmeichel touched on, he is happy to go long with his kicking when required. The sound of Old Trafford getting agitated as United try and fail to play out from the back has gone, with their new No.1 better at picking his moments to go short.
It hasn’t been a faultless start, and Lammens would have expected to do better with a couple of Bournemouth’s goals in the 4-4 draw at Old Trafford earlier this month, but he is still inexperienced for the role he is now fulfilling and there has been plenty more in the positive column in his first few months at the club.