‘Played his role as boss’ – Manchester United player described as ‘imperial’ after performance

France beat Austria 2-0 on Thursday evening in Paris, with Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud scoring the goals.

However, it wasn’t either of the strikers picked out as the best performer for Didier Deschamps’ side. That accolade was given to Manchester United’s Raphael Varane.

The defender is having a good start to the season and his fortunes have changed hugely after he received a lot of negativity during the last campaign. If he can stay fit then he’ll be a very important player for both Erik ten Hag and the France manager.

L’Equipe gave Varane 8/10, and the French newspaper say the 29-year-old was ‘imperial’.

In a gushing look at his performance, L’Equipe explain that given the defence had a lack of experience at international level, the Manchester United player ‘played his role as boss’.

He covered his teammates, was strong in the physical game, and managed to improve the performance of those around him. L’Equipe then go on to say that Varane’s performance mirrors his start to the season with Manchester United.