Manchester United ace Aaron Wan-Bissaka lauded as ‘best one-on-one defender in the world’ by Jamie Carragher after masterclass against Raheem Sterling
Jamie Carragher believes there is no better full-back in the world at one-on-one defending than Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The Manchester United summer signing is widely regarded as one of England's brightest prospects and it's no surprise the Red Devils swooped to bring him in from Crystal Palace for £45million.
He had the nickname 'Spider' at Selhurst Park and he's retained the title since moving to Old Trafford due to, in Wan-Bissaka's own words, 'the range and length of my legs when I’m lunging to tackle the ball'.
The 22-year-old has earned rave reviews since joining Man United and he's one of the favourites to be named the club's player of the season.
One of his finest performances came on Sunday as the Red Devils beat local rivals Man City for the THIRD time this term.
A 2-0 win, courtesy of goals from Anthony Martial and Scott McTominay, continued United's recent rival - and Wan-Bissaka was a key figure at Old Trafford.
Playing at right wing-back, the youngster shut down City's left winger Raheem Sterling, completing a remarkable eight tackles and only allowing Sterling to finish one dribble in the entire 90 minutes.
Sterling, who admittedly has been off the boil in recent months, was also dispossessed SIX times at Old Trafford in one of his worst performances in recent memory.
Wan-Bissaka was rightfully praised to high heaven after the match, and he earned a further rave review from Liverpool legend Carragher on Sky Sports' Monday Night Football.
"It's almost become a massive rivalry this - Raheem Sterling versus Aaron Wan-Bissaka," said Carragher.
"I actually think Pep has to think about what he can do next time given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's record now in this fixture. Something he's got to do is not put Sterling up against Wan-Bissaka.
"Sterling is perhaps one of the three best wide left players in the world, but Wan-Bissaka is saying, 'bring it on'.
"I think he's one of the best one-on-one defenders for a full-back in the world. I don't think anybody would be able to get the better of him one vs one.
"When I say Manchester City have got to do something different it's not about Sterling waving the white flag. It's about using your brain. If you're Guardiola, you've got to put Raheem on the other side.
Is Wan-Bissaka the best one-on-one full-back around?
The most important stats for a one-on-one defender are how many tackles you've completed and how many times you've been dribbled past by an opposing player. How does Wan-Bissaka rate in these key areas?
TACKLES
Only Leicester's Ricardo Pereira has recorded more tackles per game (4.3) than Wan-Bissaka (3.8) this season among all full-backs in Europe's top five leagues.
DRIBBLED PAST
Wan-Bissaka ranks joint-seventh for full-backs in Europe's top five leagues as he's been dribbled past 0.7 times per game. This is better than the aforementioned Pereira (1.9), and also the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold (1.4), Andy Robertson (1) and Ben Chilwell (1).
Stats from , correct as of March 10, 2020
"When you keep coming up against a manager and a team who keep beating you, you've got to come up with ways of doing things differently.
"Certainly in these games, Sterling has to go to the other side and Wan-Bissaka has to be given a different problem."
Wan-Bissaka is a thrice-capped England Under-21 international but his performance against Man City has renewed calls for Gareth Southgate to promote the former Crystal Palace star to his senior squad.
However, right-back is a position blessed with a wealth of depth as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker all remain top class options, while Chelsea's Reece James has also been putting in performances Southgate cannot turn a blind eye to for the Blues.