The final nail was hammered into the coffin of Manchester United’s dismal season with defeat in the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
With the club at its lowest ebb in recent memory victory in Bilbao was a shot at redemption, but the team fielded by Ruben Amorim largely wilted under the pressure.
But there were some bright sparks in amongst the disappointing performance, with the younger players showing some real potential and indicating they can be part of a major squad rebuild rather than casualties of it.
One of the best players in red on the night was Leny Yoro, starting on the right of a back three which for large parts of the match was not unduly bothered by the Spurs attack.
With less emphasis on defensive duties the young Frenchman was free to maraud forward and showed himself as an engaging creative force in transition.
The 19-year-old completed more passes than anyone else on the pitch by some distance, making 80 accurate passes. United’s next best distributor, Luke Shaw, made 63 and Yoro’s total was more than twice that of Bruno Fernandes.
Even more impressive is the fact that only three passes missed their intended target, coming out at a remarkable 96% passing accuracy across the full 90 minutes.
It’s little surprise that no starting player lost possession fewer times than him, with Yoro only giving it away on four occasions.
With the ball at his feet he was a problem for Spurs, and he completed two of his attempted three dribbles.
While he wasn’t able to produce any key passes he did find his man with the one cross he attempted as he pushed and probed to find a way back into the game.
And to underline his importance on the night, no player touched the ball more times than his 96 – on a desperate night for the club, Yoro’s involvement was a good indication ahead of the next campaign.
He was no passenger in defence, where he chipped in with four clearances – only bested by Harry Maguire’s eight – and one tackle.
He impressed in the duel too, winning six of the eight he contested – five on the ground and three in the air.
Stats taken from sofascore.
Featured image Ryan Pierse via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
