It was another afternoon to forget as Manchester United slumped to a 2-0 loss at home to West Ham United.
Aside from being at Old Trafford, the defeat was exceptionally difficult to accept given that West Ham United started the day even lower in the Premier League table than Man United, leapfrogging them in the standings to sink Ruben Amorim’s team to 16th.
While the entire team were to blame for another shocking defeat, some players stood out more than others due to their exceptionally poor showings.
One of those major letdowns was none other than Manuel Ugarte.
In contrast to his impressive UEFA Europa League showings, the Uruguayan was nowhere to be seen in the West Ham clash.
In fact, the one moment in the game where he was at centre stage was when he lost the ball in the middle of the park, falling to the ground in search of a foul.
Not only was the foul not given, but West Ham took advantage of the situation to score the opening goal of the match.
With just 36 touches of the ball, Ugarte completed 24 of his 28 passes for an 86% passing accuracy.
While a decent output, the positive side of his performance ended here.
Ugarte made no key passes nor crosses, while failing to complete his only long ball of the game.
He showed very little physicality and had minimal involvement in the midfield battle. He was engaged in just two ground duels, winning one, while winning his only aerial duel.
At the same time, he lost possession on six separate occasions.
He was completely absent from the attack, failing to take a single shot, while also not attempting any dribbles.
In defence, he managed one tackle while making a single interception and one clearance.
Overall, Ugarte’s performance was a massive letdown, especially since he was so effective in United’s Europa League match on Thursday.
He will surely hope to improve his form quickly ahead of United’s match against Chelsea next weekend.
(Stats via Sofascore)
Featured image Marc Atkins via Getty Images
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Mathew Cohen
A faithful Manchester United supporter, Mathew has worked as a football writer and analyst for SB Nation, FanSided, and now The Peoples Person. Mathew’s heroes include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sir Alex Ferguson, all of whom played their part in creating some special childhood memories.
