zandvoort blue said:
The best complement that can be made is the fact that his team mates and the club know his importance. A number of players would have been substituted after a challenge like Wellbeck`s last night. However, the team collectively protected Zabaleta for 20 minutes after the incident. The team played everything down the left, and Navas dropped back to take the ball in positions where you expected "the man" to have been. It may have looked like we dropped off the pace during this period, but as a team they knew a team with Zabaleta on the pitch is more important.
That's more or less what happened, although it was a case of Zabaleta protecting himself by stopping the overlaps. Up to that point he and Navas were isolating Evra and ripping them to pieces on that flank by bombing onto him as a pair. That's the reason why our momentum dropped a bit for the remainder of the half - he was nursing that injury. He got outpaced by someone too at one point - can't remember who as I haven't watched the game since.
I bet he's got a ridiculous bruise but he won't care. He's a hard bastard. Even when he got elbowed he jumped up and let the trainer treat him stood up. He doesn't let the opposition get any phsycological edge.
