100% dribbles, 100% long balls, 8 ground duels won: Surprise United star stung Newcastle into submission

Despite missing so many key personnel, Manchester United not only clinched all three points but also their second clean sheet of the season, against Newcastle at Old Trafford on Friday. The home side were without Amad, Bryan Mbeumo, skipper Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire, and Noussair Mazraoui heading into the contest. As a result, Ruben Amorim had to make quite a few alterations to his matchday squad, including a tactical tweak few saw coming. A flat back-four, with wingers operating instead of wingbacks, caught the visitors out. And a makeshift back-four impressed one and all. Manuel Ugarte proved his critics wrong The head coach must have had quite the conundrum while selecting his midfielders, given Manuel Ugarte’s recent form. The Uruguayan has been a major disappointment since his signing, and even with his former Sporting CP boss’ arrival, his fortunes have remained unaffected. In fact, Amorim even called him out on occasions, but on Boxing Day with the odds firmly stacked against the hosts, the Uruguay international showed what an asset he can be. Especially off the ball, Manuel Ugarte kept swarming all over the Newcastle attackers, stinging them into giving away possession. He was brilliant off the ball In total, the 24-year-old won eight ground duels, most among all his teammates. He also completed six tackles, while clearing the ball away from danger on three occasions. StatValue Minutes played90 Goals0 Assists0 Total shots0 Accurate passes26/36 (72%) Chances created1 Fantasy points5 Defensive contributions17 Touches62 Touches in opposition box1 Successful dribbles2/2 (100%) Passes into final third3 Accurate long balls1/1 (100%) Dispossessed1 Tackles6 Blocks0 Clearances3 Headed clearance1 Interceptions2 Recoveries6 Dribbled past3 Ground duels won8/15 (53%) Aerial duels won0/1 (0%) Was fouled0 Fouls committed3 match stats via fotmob Not only that, but the ex-PSG ace completed two interceptions while recovering the ball six times (all stats via fotmob). His usage of the ball was not too shabby either. All his long ball attempts found their mark while he completed all his dribbling attempts. Three of his passes were into the final third, while he also created one big chance. He clearly overshadowed his more illustrious teammates in Casemiro. His head coach could not have asked for more. Hopefully, this will help Manuel Ugarte with his confidence, and he can keep improving given the injury abstenees, amid raging exit rumours. Feature image Stu Forster via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25