Eric Bailly's Flying Head Kick Gives Away A Penalty For Ivory Coast

Eric Bailly went full Eric Bailly and tried to take an opponent's head off with a flying kick to the head, during Ivory Coast's World Cup qualifier with Cameroon.

There was a time last season when some Manchester United fans felt Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team would be better off with Bailly in defence over Victor Lindelof, before the signing of Raphael Varane put to bed the argument of who should partner Harry Maguire.

Time and time again however the former Villarreal defender has done things that go against that train of thought, and Monday was no different.

Playing for his national team, Bailly nearly managed to cost them a win, after they'd been cruising to all three points, with a typically bizarre moment of defending.

With the ball bouncing in the box, the 27-year-old went with a high kick, instead of heading the ball, and only made contact with the head of Cameroon forward Karl Toko Ekambi.

Former West Ham United striker Sebastian Haller had given Cote d'Ivoire a 2-0 lead in the first half, first converting a penalty in the 20th minute before doubling the lead nine minutes later.

After drawing their opening second round qualifier with Mozambique, the hosts really needed the win, but Bailly's defending put that in jeopardy.

After the moment of madness, Moumi Ngamaleu made it 2-1 from the spot, with just under half an hour to go, but 2015 African Cup of Nations champions managed to hold on to the win and go top of group D, ahead of their opponents.

Earlier this summer, Bailly instantly went from hero to zero for his country during the Olympic Games, putting his team ahead in their quarter final against Spain.

However it wasn't to be as the United centre back first gave away a 93rd minute equaliser for Spain, with a dreadful header falling at the feet of Rafa Mir, before he then conceded a penalty in extra time with more bizarre defending.

There are still moments of brilliant defending from the African as well, with his fine late block against Aston Villa last season an excellent example of what he's capable of.

All too often though it's the moments of madness that come out on top.

Featured Image Credit: Twitter

Topics: Football, Football World Cup, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Eric Bailly, Manchester United, Premier League

Ryan Sidle

Ryan is a journalist for SPORTbible with over eight years of experience. Passionate about all sports, he mainly covers football and F1 - Daniel Ricciardo once spent an entire interview referring to him as 'Ryan Gosling,' still his proudest moment.

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