There was no doubt about who was man of the match against Man Utd for AFCB. Artur Boruc was immense and it was particularly typical of the man that he would come back like that in a game having had lots of criticism over his performance at WBA. In a week when he also hung up his international gloves, it was perhaps a signal that Artur just wanted to play well for AFCB now and he wanted to set the standard high as the club went into its last dozen games of the season.
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| It was a fantastic effort from Artur on Saturday - he loved playing in the big stadium. |
Keepers are worth 10 to 15 points over the course of the season and the way Artur started the 2016/17 season, he was in tip-top shape. The gloss in his performances kind of dipped as we went into winter, but it seems that he is back to hurling himself at everything now to keep the ball out of the net. The amount of saves that Artur made up at Old Trafford was remarkable. Man Utd had seven shots on target and only scored from one. The big save was the penalty of course, and I quietly fancied Boruc to make the save because he was having such a fantastic game, while Ibrahimovic was was distracted and had his mind on getting even with Tyrone Mings more than anything else.
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The actual penalty save was not only impressive for the athleticism of Boruc to get down right into the corner with his right hand, but it was the speed of his movement. Boruc's reactions are simply electric when he wants to be the hero, and he had something to say on the pitch to his critics in this game. He answered them in no uncertain terms and even if Eddie Howe does bring in another number one keeper in the summer, don't write off Boruc just yet at staying on to battle for the shirt.
When Boruc has games like this you wonder how good it would be if he could play like that all the time? AFCB would be up in the top 10 teams for sure as keepers have a major impact on moral as well as keeping the goals out. The back four will feel more empowered now going into their next match as they know they have a keeper back in top form behind them. Just another 11 games like that form Boruc and AFCB will be pushing themselves to their highest Premier League finish.
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