On Sunday at Villa Park, Jonny Evans put in one of the best centre-back and defensive performances we've seen at Man Utd in a long time. He was magnificent as he ticked all the boxes when it comes to what you want your CB to do.
Coming up against Ollie Watkins, one of the league's in form strikers, Evans displayed his class and experience of how to handle a top centre-forward. Watkins didn't have a sniff.
His inclusion in the starting lineup was a complete surprise as I don't think many would've predicted him in the XI. Either this was blind faith, pure trust or an absolute master stroke by Erik ten Hag - whose future is yet to be decided - but whatever the case, Evans in the team was the correct decision.
This was a complete performance which resulted in a deserved man of the match award. In fact, every time Evans has played for United in the past year, he has showcased this type of quality despite being a 5th/6th choice centre-back.
This was the Northern Irishman's first start for the club in the league yet he played as if he was a first-team regular and one of our best performers.
But why is that?
At the ripe age of 36-years-old, many would look at him and say that he is coming towards the end of his career, which is correct. He recently retired from the national team and was supposed to be on an initial one-year contract at United before potentially hanging up his boots entirely but the club decided to give him an extra 12 months this season after having returned to the club last year.
There was obviously some value that the club saw in him for them to keep him beyond his one year and perhaps a little of t hat has to do with the fact that he was at the club previously in which he won everything.
I think above all with Evans, not only does he still have the quality but its his mentality that I think truly separates him from the rest and why we saw that MOTM performance.
Evans showed what a top mentality can do that inspite of his age which is obviously a barrier nowadays, playing against a top striker in Watkins which is difficult, only starting your first league match and yet he put on a defensive masterclass, indicates that through his strong mindset, he can still perform at the highest level.
We don't have enough players with this mentality and quality. For too long, we've had one or the other with many players rather than both, which are needed when playing at Man Utd.
Ex-Red Dimitar Berbatov said something that is perfect for that performance and summing up United and it's players. When speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Berbatov said:
"I am trying to find the right words here. Everybody on the pitch today should be ashamed because Jonny Evans is man of the match."
Indeed, the rest of the team should be embarrassed because for a man of 36 to be coming into the team and outperforming them all is humiliating. A lot of them are young to entering their prime and don't display that sort of quality consistently enough nor do they show that type of mentality.
Is this all simply because Evans was here under the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson? I do believe that that plays a part but it shouldn't be a reason as to why the rest of the team are shite.
If we had a Jonny Evans that was even 5 years younger, what a difference it would make to our team. He would be one of our starting centre-backs and perhaps in with a shout of being captain. He is a well-respected and well-liked character with plenty of experience. Alongside Casemiro, Evans is the next true 'winner' of the squad. Players like that are invaluable.
But in Evans, we see another example of how an elder statesman outshines the younger pros.
Over the past decade and more, we've seen the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo and now Jonny Evans who've all displayed not just the quality but the mentality, something that the rest of the squad haven't.
When Zlatan came, he said that he found United to have a "small, closed mentality." We know that in his explosive interview, Ronaldo said that some of the youngsters at the club didn't show a willingness to learn and work hard and singled out just Diogo Dalot as one of the few who did.
I feel like this is perhaps just a societal issue in general, that this generation simply don't have that discipline and mindset which displays any form of willingness to do all that's required to be the best version of themselves they can be.
This is why the quartet of Ibrahimovic, Cavani, Ronaldo and Evans who at these points, were/are coming towards the end of their careers, showed their class because they have that desire to be the best and give everything when they play.
It's not just about quality, it's ATTITUDE.
That's the difference.
Fair play to Jonny. Deserved MOTM and does deserve to start the next game based on that performance. If only we had a few players who displayed this sort of mentality and quality. Where we could be.
Background Image: Jonny Evans | Creator: Catherine Ivill - AMA | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2024 AMA Sports Photo Agency via SuperSport