Roy Keane sends ‘lovely’ message to Man United players
The Man United legend was moved to see the Red Devils show sportsmanship at Benfica
Roy Keane praised the Manchester United players for comforting Benfica’s teenage goalkeeper Mile Svilar in a 1-0 Champions League win in Portugal on Wednesday night.
Svilar became the youngest-ever goalkeeper to feature in Europe’s premier club competition at the tender age of 18 after he was handed his Benfica debut for the visit of the three-time champions.
The Red Devils secured their third successive Champions League win thanks to England international Marcus Rashford’s second-half winner at the Estadio de Luz.
Svilar initially managed to catch Rashford’s free-kick before the Benfica shot stopper inadvertently carried the ball over his line to help Manchester United make the breakthrough.
The Red Devils showed their sporting side following the 1-0 win when Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic moved to comfort Svilar as the Benfica debutant digested his mistake.
Keane was a ruthless operator during his distinguished Manchester United career, but the retired Red Devils captain showed a softer side in his analysis of the moment of sportsmanship at the final whistle.
“That was really nice to see after the game,” Keane told ITV Sport.
“Really sad [that it happened]. They were lovely touches.
“He’s a young lad, he’s learning his trade and unfortunately sometimes you have to learn the hard way by making big mistakes in big moments.
“But that was a lovely touch by the United lads – really nice to see.”
Manchester United are sitting on nine points at the top of Champions League Group A and three points clear of their closest challengers Basel.
The Red Devils are looking to win their first Premier League title since 2013.
