Hannibal Mejbri, a loanee from Manchester United, stole the show last night as Birmingham City defeated nearby rival West Brom 2-0.
The on-loan midfielder scored his first-ever senior goal—a stunning free kick—in the neighborhood derby to start the scoring.
He then contributed, planting a corner kick onto Krystian Bielik's head to double the Blues' lead and win local bragging rights.
After the game, he showed off his man of the match award, which he rightfully received, on his Instagram story.
While watching the game live on Sky Sports, pundits Hal Robson-Kanu and Clinton Morrison, who previously played for Birmingham and West Brom, respectively, were effusive in their praise for the midfielder.
Clinton Morrison stated: “It’s a fantastic free kick. Fair play to him and he’s been outstanding. I loved that energy. He believes in himself. He sets the tone for them.”
Robson-Kanu added: "It felt like he covered every blade of grass."
“At 20-years-old to put in a performance like that, (Erik) Ten Hag will be watching that and he has a very bright future.”
Team-mate Bielik was full of praise for the youngster, before joking: ‘Obviously Hanni saw the keeper, great… delivery? Great shot? I’m not sure.’ To which Mejbri responded: ‘You know the quality.’
Hannibal Mejbri's masterpiece last night follows another enormous contribution last week, when he helped Birmingham score the game-winning goal at Swansea in the 97th minute. That led to a thrilling 4-3 victory, and the Blues' victory last night was yet another impressive performance. They are making every effort to avoid being distracted by off-field ownership issues.
The Tunisia international's first-ever senior goal is a significant accomplishment, and he will be hoping to keep impressing from now until the end of the season. Hannibal Mejbri must ensure he is in the best possible position to benefit from any changes that may occur in Manchester United's midfield next season.
Asked if he was expecting a text from the United manager after his superb performance, Mejbri told Sky Sports: ‘I just need to focus and stay focused… I’m sure he has Sky!"
"But I just need to focus until the end of the season and then we will see what happens in the summer."
After being handed the Man of the Match award, he added: ‘Thank you! Nice trophy, thank you very much. And it was on Sky!’
Asked if there was a better way to have scored his first senior goal, the youngster replied: ‘No I don’t think so!
"It was a great game first, a good derby. And I had the chance to score and I’m very happy. The atmosphere was really nice so I just have to enjoy the moment."
"No message [from the manager to shoot], the only message was in my head. I saw that the keeper was a bit too high, so I acted like I was going to cross but I shot."
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