Sports
2/13 duels won, 11x possession lost: £42m star was United’s worst player vs Chelsea, less touches than Onana – opinion – Football Today
Manchester United dropped points for the seventh time in the Premier League season following a 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils secured a stunning 5-2 win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup fourth round in midweek, but they lacked the same intensity against the Blues.
United missed four big chances to find the back of the net and their only goal of the game came from the penalty spot after Rasmus Hojlund was fouled.
Noussair Mazraoui’s performance was the biggest positive. He won 13 ground duels with a passing accuracy of 92 percent with five dribbles completed.
Looking at the negative side, Manuel Ugarte’s display was far from convincing as he was dominated by Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia in midfield.
The Uruguayan won just 2 out of 13 duels. He lost possession on 11 occasions and was guilty of committing six fouls with an error leading to a shot.
The former Paris Saint-Germain star managed 38 touches and just 22 successful passes with an accuracy of 76 percent. He was dribbled past on a couple of occasions.
In comparison, Andre Onana had more touches and passes (47 & 23) than the £42 million-rated star
Ugarte received a yellow card before the break and he was probably fortuitous to avoid a sending-off after committing four fouls after the interval.
The 23-year-old was a regular on the bench under former manager Erik ten Hag, who emphasised that he needs to adapt to the pace of the Premier League.
Judging by yesterday’s showing, Ugarte looked far from his best and his performances need to improve in order to secure a guaranteed starting role in future.
The midfielder had two solid seasons under incoming boss Ruben Amorim at Sporting CP and the Portuguese’s arrival could be a good thing for him.
Stats from Sofascore.com