Manchester United loan star Hannibal Mejbri put in a fine performance in Birmingham City’s 3-2 win over Reading in the Championship.
The Tunisian has returned to club football in good form following his outings with Tunisia in the FIFA World Cup.
Hannibal was at his combative best against Blackpool last week, winning four duels and winning three interceptions in an abrasive match that ended 0-0, with a single shot on target between the sides.
Against Reading, however, the midfielder’s creative talents came to the fore, in a far more exciting match packed with goals.
Hannibal completed three accurate long passes, two key passes, and registered an assist for Birmingham’s third goal.
He set up United academy graduate Tahith Chong with a devious, quickly taken free kick that caught out the Royals’ defense and left the Dutchman one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
Hannibal’s creative genius in the match did not come at the expense of his fire – he never, ever does, after all.
He helped his team to win the midfield battle with four interceptions and two successful tackles, surprisingly only committing one foul all game.
The Tunisia starlet was withdrawn on 76 minutes, for none other than Jobe Bellingham, younger brother of the Borussia Dortmund midfielder causing a transfer scuffle between just about every top club in Europe.
Birmingham now sit in eighth place in the Championship as they battle to secure a place in the playoffs.
As for Hannibal, he has been enjoying regular senior action, and already has three assists in this campaign.
His development appears to be coming along nicely and many fans will hope that Hannibal returns from his loan spell ready to compete for a place in the first team squad at Manchester United.
(All stats taken from SofaScore)
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