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Nobody expected Manchester United to produce the performance that gave them a point against Liverpool on Sunday. Indeed, Ruben Amorim’s team were vastly improved against the Premier League table-toppers, claiming a 2-2 draw they were good value for. Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte were at the heart of everything United did.
No other player on the pitch for either team registered more tackles during the match than the pair in the centre of Manchester United’s midfield. Along with midfield teammate Bruno Fernandes, they combined to win 25 ground duels and made it difficult for Liverpool to play through the centre of the pitch.
This was in stark contrast to the manner of the performance produced against Newcastle United when the Magpies cut through the Old Trafford outfit at will. Casemiro and Christian Eriksen started as the midfield pairing in that match, but never had the physicality to match Bruno Guimaraes, Joelinton and Sandro Tonali.
Faced with an equally daunting opposition midfield trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Curtis Jones and Alexis Mac Allister, Mainoo and Ugarte more than held their own, breaking up Liverpool attacks before they could develop. There was a period towards the end of the first half when the hosts could hardly progress into the attacking third due to United’s two central destroyers.
United’s central midfield has been troublesome for a number of years, even going as far back as the days of Sir Alex Ferguson. The club has spent hundreds of millions on the likes of Paul Pogba, Casemiro and Mason Mount without much success. Mainoo and Ugarte, however, can grow together under a manager who understands them.
Ugarte suffered a difficult start to life at Manchester United after joining from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, but the Uruguayan played under Amorim at Sporting CP and is now thriving. Mainoo has also recovered from a tricky few months to pick up where he left off at the end of last season when his club form earned him a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad.
“I want to see my team play so much better but I think the most important thing to address today is the mentality, that is the key for everything,” said Amorim, highlighting his team’s mindset. “Today we were a different team not because of the system and not because of a technical aspect of the game. We faced the competition in the way we are supposed to face every day. Training and match, it doesn’t matter, we need to face every day like that.”
Tactically, the match-up suited Manchester United. They used a similar game plan to the one that saw Nottingham Forest beat Liverpool at Anfield earlier this season, staying compact at the back, asking the Reds to break them down and playing fast and direct into the attack. United were able to play to their strengths.
Amorim might be able to recycle the same approach away to Arsenal in the FA Cup third round this weekend, but it’ll be a different story the next time Manchester United come up against an opponent willing to sit deep in a low defensive block. This is where United have repeatedly come up short against lower calibre sides.
As good as Fernandes was against Liverpool on Sunday, there are also questions over the Portuguese’s suitability for a system that requires him to cover a huge amount of ground in every match. Fernandes is currently United’s most reliable attacking creator, but he’s still to prove his long-term compatibility for Amorim’s approach.
In Mainoo and Ugarte, though, Manchester United have two young players they can build around for seasons to come. Progress has been slow for Amorim since taking over at Old Trafford, but Sunday’s performance against Liverpool demonstrated the potential of his new-look team, starting with their improvement in midfield.
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