“I thought they outdid them,” Sky Sports' Gary Neville said of the midfield battle against Liverpool at Anfield. “I thought United took control of 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 disappointing start to his career at Old Trafford since joining from Paris Saint-Germain for a fee that could top £50 million – and not just because United are currently having their worst season of the Premier League era.
Erik ten Hag had to tone him down due to fitness issues and it even took time for him to show his best form under Ruben Amorim, a coach who knows him well from his time at Sporting. But he was excellent at Anfield and was a combative presence throughout.
Data via Genius IQ shows Ugarte made 12 sprint presses against Liverpool, defined as presses where the player travels faster than 25 kilometers per hour. Crystal Palace's Jefferson Lerma was the only player to surpass that total this weekend with 13.
There was an intensity to Ugarte's work that United have missed.
Casemiro and Christian Eriksen were steamrolled to the ground in the first half hour against Newcastle, but Ugarte and Kobbie Mainoo rose to the challenge of facing Liverpool's much-vaunted midfield trio. As Amorim said afterwards: it was a matter of mentality.
The pair made four tackles each, more than anyone else on the field. There were also some crafty fouls from Ugarte, breaking up attacks without receiving a yellow card. This looked more like the player supporters thought they would sign this summer.
His simple use of the ball was exactly what was needed, frustrating Liverpool, but there was also that hooked pass to Bruno Fernandes in the build-up to what would have been the winner had Harry Maguire been able to save his stoppage time. down.
This was the first of five times Ugarte and Mainoo have started together and United have achieved a positive result, so perhaps it's early to get too carried away. But with Ugarte only 23 and Mainoo still a teenager, their partnership in the middle clearly has huge potential.
Jimenez's perfect penalty record
Raul Jimenez converted two penalties in Fulham's 2-2 draw with Ipswich at Craven Cottage on Sunday, taking his tally of penalties in the Premier League to ten. He is yet to miss, just the third player to now reach double figures and boast a perfect penalty record.
Yaya Toure has one lead on 11, while Cole Palmer currently holds the record with 12. Jimenez's technique is masterful, he walks towards the ball, eyes on the goalkeeper as he then forces the ball into either side of the net, which misleads him just enough. score.
Four penalties for the Mexican striker went to one side of the goalkeeper and six to the other. His conversions against Ipswich were typical of that unpredictability. The first went low to Christian Walton's right, the second hit him high to the left.
All this only makes it more surprising that Jimenez wasn't even Fulham's penalty taker at the start of this season. When he scored for Nottingham Forest in September, he was criticized by his manager because Andrea Pereira was the designated player.
“It's clearly Raul's fault,” said Fulham boss Marco Silva. “It won't happen again.” Three weeks later, Pereira took a penalty against Aston Villa with the scoreline, his poor effort was saved and Fulham lost the match 3–1 at Craven Cottage.
Jimenez is clearly the taker now. As he always should have been.
The progressive death of Van Hecke
Jan Paul van Hecke recently revealed he felt the eyes of his Brighton teammates on him when former boss 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 is his fainting from behind that sets Van Hecke apart from the rest. In Saturday's 1-1 draw against Arsenal, he completed four passes to bypass six or more opposition players, more than any other Premier League player this weekend.
That is not unusual. It is the eighth time this season that he has done so. Again, more than any fielder. He also holds the record for most in a single match this season, with 12 such passes bypassing six or more defenders in the win over Manchester City.
In total, Van Hecke's passes have bypassed 2,360 opponents in the Premier League this season, the most of any player.
He is among the top 10 players in the Premier League in terms of completed passes, but the tracking data shows that those passes had a lower expected completion rate than the other nine men on the list. Van Hecke makes more difficult passes than normal.
Against the Gunners, those passes were often big shifts from right to left. But Van Hecke can also make smart passes between the lines that teams cross. The Dutch international, now 24, is developing into an elite ball-playing centre-back.
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