“I thought they outplayed them,” he said Sky Sports’ Gary Neville of the midfield battle against Liverpool at Anfield. “I thought United controlled the midfield, which I haven’t seen many Manchester United midfielders do here.” Manuel Ugarte was the key to this.
The Uruguayan has had a relatively poor start to his career at Old Trafford since joining from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee that could rise north of £50m – and not just because United are currently enduring their most worst of the Premier League era.
Erik ten Hag has had to ease him into fitness concerns and has even taken time to show his best form under Ruben Amorim, a coach he knows well from their time at Sporting. But he was excellent at Anfield, a combative presence throughout.
Data through Genius IQ shows that Ugarte made 12 sprinting pushes against Liverpool, defined as a push where the player exceeds 25 kilometers per hour. Crystal Palace’s Jefferson Lerma with 13 was the only player to surpass that total at the weekend.
There was an intensity to Ugarte’s work that United have lacked.
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen came on in the first half hour against Newcastle, but Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo faced the challenge of dealing with Liverpool’s much-vaunted midfield trio. As Amorimi said afterwards, it was a mentality thing.
Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte had the most shots in the draw against Liverpool
The pair had four hits apiece, more than anyone else in the field. There were some crafty fouls from Ugarte as well, breaking up attacks with impunity. This was more like the player supporters thought they were signing in the summer.
Manuel Ugarte’s pass in Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool
His simple use of the ball was exactly what was required, frustrating Liverpool, but there was also that chipped pass to Bruno Fernandes in the build-up to what would have been the winner if Harry Maguire had been able to hold onto the shot his in the last time. down.
It was the first of the five times Ugarte and Mainoo have started together that United have secured a positive result, so it’s probably too early to get too carried away. But with Ugarte just 23 and Mainoo still a teenager, their midfield partnership clearly has huge potential.
Jimenez’s perfect penalty shootout record
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Highlights from the Premier League match between Fulham and Ipswich
Raul Jimenez converted two penalties in Fulham’s 2-2 draw with Ipswich at Craven Cottage on Sunday, taking his Premier League spot-kick tally to 10. He is yet to miss, only the third player now in double figures that can boast. a perfect penalty record.
Yaya Toure is one ahead with 11, while Cole Palmer currently holds the record with 12. Jimenez’s technique is masterful, moving towards the ball, with his eye on the goalkeeper as he then puts the ball to either side of the net, stepping on it just enough. to mark.
Raul Jimenez’s 10 penalties in the Premier League have all been converted
Four of the Mexican striker’s penalties have gone to one side of the goalkeeper and six to the other. His conversions against Ipswich were typical of that unpredictability. The first went down to the right of Christian Walton, the second beat him up to the left.
All of which makes it all the more surprising that Jimenez wasn’t even Fulham’s penalty taker earlier this season. When he scored at Nottingham Forest in September, he was criticized by his manager because Andrea Pereira was the designated player.
“It’s clearly Raul’s fault,” Fulham coach Marco Silva said. “It won’t happen again.” Three weeks later, Pereira hit a penalty against Aston Villa to level the score, had poor efforts saved and Fulham went on to lose the game 3-1 at Craven Cottage.
Jimenez is definitely the player now. As it should have been all along.
Van Hecke’s progressive pass
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Highlights from the Premier League match between Brighton and Arsenal
Jan Paul van Hecke recently revealed he could feel the eyes of his Brighton teammates when former manager Roberto De Zerbi described him as one of the best centre-backs in the Premier League. But his performances continue to highlight his rare quality.
It’s his miss from the back that marks Van Hecke out from the rest. In Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Arsenal, he completed four passes that missed six or more opposition players, more than any other Premier League player over the weekend.
Jan Paul van Hecke’s range of passes in Brighton’s draw against Arsenal
This is not unusual. It is the eighth time he has done so this season. Again, more than any outfielder. He also holds the record this season for most in a single game – 12 such passes bypassing six or more defenders in the win over Manchester City.
In total, Van Hecke’s passes have eluded 2,360 opponents in the Premier League this season, the most of any player.
Jan Paul van Hecke ranks first for the total number of defenders overlooked this season
He ranks among the top 10 players in the Premier League for completed passes, but tracking data shows those passes had a lower expected completion rate than the other nine players on the list. Van Hecke is making more difficult passes than usual.
Against the Gunners, those passes tended to be big right-to-left passes. But Van Hecke can also play those clever passes between the lines that cross teams. The Dutch international, now 24, is developing into an elite ball-playing centre-back.
