Life as a second-choice goalkeeper can be hard, especially when you play for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
Altay Bayindir was the subject of ridicule in December when he conceded direct from Son Heung-Min’s 88th-minute corner in Manchester United’s agonising 4-3 Carabao Cup quarter-final cup defeat by Tottenham.
But, just one month, and one appearance, later, his manager Ruben Amorim described him as “our hero” as the 26-year-old made the crucial contribution to his side’s FA Cup third-round win at Arsenal on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
The Turkey international’s appearances have been limited to cup competitions since joining United in September 2023 for a fee of £4.3m from Fenerbahce, with his four games this season in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup.
But after the pain of that Tottenham loss and doubts about his ability, Bayindir took the acclaim as United overcame the Gunners at Emirates Stadium, despite having Diogo Dalot sent off in the 61st minute of a game that went into extra time.
“Your life as a footballer has cycles and moments,” admitted United boss Amorim.
“Sometimes in one week, your life can change and you can see [that with] Altay. Against Tottenham everyone was biting their fingers for Altay and I understand that – and today he was our hero.
“He’s a good guy, he works a lot and life has beautiful things.
“All the players in this team have the opportunity and they are lucky because they are playing for Manchester United. It doesn’t matter if you play one game or 90 games, it’s always a joy to play for this club.”
It was Bayindir’s brilliant save in the corner to stop Martin Odegaard’s penalty in the 72nd minute that changed the momentum of the match. Arsenal would have led 2-1 at that point with an extra man advantage.
Inspired by that, United showed defensive defiance to take the tie into a penalty shootout, where Bayindir again stretched his 6ft 6in frame to keep out a low effort from Kai Havertz – the only spot-kick missed of the nine taken.
Those saves meant he was the first Premier League goalkeeper on record in the FA Cup (since the 2013-14 season) to save a penalty in both normal time and a penalty shootout in the same game.
