Manchester United booked their place in the Europa League final last night, after a 4-1 win at Old Trafford against Athletic Club, building on their triumph from the first leg.
Goals from Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro secured the win for Ruben Amorim’s side, setting up a tie with fellow Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur.
The 7-1 aggregate victory demonstrated the clinical nature posed by the Red Devils, something which they will need to replicate if they are to claim the title at the end of the month.
Should they manage to once again win in Bilbao, it would secure Champions League football for the club, putting a superb end to what’s been a terrible season on the pitch.
Despite the convincing victory, numerous players failed to deliver at the Theatre of Dreams, potentially putting their places in the side at huge risk.
United’s poor performers against Athletic Club
After Diogo Dalot’s injury, Noussair Mazraoui was forced to operate in an unnatural right wing-back role, largely featuring as part of the back three since Amorim’s arrival.
The Moroccan failed to win any of the tackles he entered, whilst losing 100% of the ground duels he contested – with last night’s showing one to forget for the former Bayern Munich star.
He wasn’t alone in failing to impress, with forward Alejandro Garnacho once again falling way below the high levels of performance he’s set for himself at United.
The youngster only managed to complete one of his three attempted dribbles and only registered one effort on goal as he failed to add to his tally in Europe this campaign.
However, despite the showings from the aforementioned duo, one other Red Devils star failed to deliver, potentially becoming a new version of one other former failure at Old Trafford.
The United player who’s becoming the new Amrabat
Midfielder Sofyan Amrabat arrived at United with high hopes of being a success last season, but ultimately failed to deliver during his temporary spell at the club.
The Moroccan, who joined on loan from Fiorentina, featured for a total of 30 times across all competitions, often being utilised as a bench player and brought on late in matches.
However, despite his poor displays, he was useful in terms of seeing out games, managing to regain possession and winning 60% of the tackles he entered at Old Trafford.
Fast forward to the present day, Amorim has found his own version of the 28-year-old in Uruguayan Manuel Ugarte, who failed to impress once again last night.
The former PSG ace has been impressive during his early days at the club, managing to follow in Amrabat’s footsteps of impressing in regaining the ball for the Red Devils.
Last night was no different, winning two tackles and seven duels, managing to break up the play in the heart of the side – undoubtedly contributing to the victory.
However, with the ball at his feet, he struggled to make a huge impact, losing possession 15 times and managing to complete just 67% of the passes he attempted.
Minutes played
62
Touches
48
Passes completed
22/33 (67%)
Possession lost
15x
Tackles won
2
Duels won
7
Dribbles completed
1/2 (50%)
Ugarte also only competed 50% of the dribbles he attempted and was unable to make a single key pass, having little to no impact on the club’s goalscoring antics.
As a result, the midfielder was handed a measly 4/10 match rating by Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst – further highlighting how poor he was throughout the triumph.
After such a showing, it’s safe to say the Uruguayan could be on borrowed time within the starting eleven, with other options needing to be considered ahead of the final.
With nothing left to play for in the league, Amorim can use the matches as an opportunity to trial other players in such a role to bolster their ambitions of claiming the trophy in the coming weeks.
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