Former Man Utd midfielder Paul Scholes was impressed by Manuel Ugarte’s “quality on the ball” as the Red Devils drew 2-2 against Liverpool on Sunday.
The Red Devils are having a terrible season but got a brilliant point at Anfield over the weekend to move up one place in the Premier League table to 13th.
Man Utd went ahead on 52 minutes when Lisandro Martinez crashed a shot off the cross bar and into Alisson’s net, before Cody Gakpo equalised seven minutes later with a brilliant run and shot.
Liverpool then took the lead through a Mohamed Salah penalty after Matthijs de Ligt had handled the ball in the area, but Man Utd had the final say as Amad Diallo equalised ten minutes later.
Harry Maguire could have won it 30 seconds from the end but his shot blazed over the cross bar from inside the box with Ruben Amorim’s side taking heart from a good point at their arch-rivals.
Ugarte, who signed from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer for £41m, was brilliant as he came up against a Liverpool midfield trio of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones.
And Man Utd legend Scholes admits that Ugarte’s performance after being recalled to the starting line-up at Anfield “surprised” him.
Scholes said on Premier League Productions: “Yeah, he has to be and I think all them [Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Kobbie Mainoo] are capable of playing with him.
“I think Mainoo would be the best one once he’s right, once he’s playing and his fitness is better.
“Partnerships all over the pitch are important and you look at Manchester United, you don’t really see any partnerships, you don’t see links between players, you don’t see a link between a midfielder and a forward.
“Ugarte and another one are more than capable of playing for that team. And not just Ugarte for his legs… I even think his quality on the ball, it surprised me a little bit because I did see a bit of him at PSG.”
On Ugarte’s start as a Man Utd player, Scholes added: “He’s probably done better than I thought he would do.
“He [Amorim] said before that Ugarte did well for him at Sporting Lisbon, as a really young player as well so he knows him.
“This lad is really growing in confidence. I thought he took up some great positions, he helped defensively, he helped with the attack and I thought he had the composure to take the ball as well.
“It looks to me like it has to be him with another.”
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Scholes believes that Man Utd showed the “blueprint” for future performances against Liverpool as they went “toe to toe” with the Premier League leaders.
The Man Utd legend continued: “That was a proper performance today. To go to Anfield and go toe to toe with the best team…
“They beat Manchester City who have been the best team for four or five years but that performance was nothing like this. This was better.
“I know they didn’t win the game like they did at City but I take more out of that performance than actually winning against the champions.
“I think, now, that’s the blueprint, that’s the way they go forward, that’s the standard.
“By now, the manager should know his players. He has chopped and changed so much and this has to be [close to his strongest team].
“Who else can come into it? Luke Shaw, possibly if he’s fit. Leny Yoro at centre-half, Alejandro Garnacho, possibly, but I don’t think he quite gets into it.
“If that starting XI is fit then they have to play until players perform badly and they don’t get into the team.
“That’s the standard that they’ve set and they have to reach in games to come. I can’t see any reason why they can’t do it.”
