Video: 12 duels won, 6 clearances, 2 key passes: United star’s dominant show puts his team one step away from glory

Manchester United had one player involved in international duty last night. United players involved Noussair Mazraoui’s Morocco edged past Nigeria 4-2 on penalties after a 0-0 stalemate during the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final. Bryan Mbeumo and Amad both returned to Manchester this week after Cameroon and the Ivory Coast were eliminated at the quarter-final stage. Noussair Mazraoui will now play in the final against Senegal on Sunday. Mazraoui’s match The United man showed his versatility by playing as a left-back instead of his usual spot on the right. He made a huge 11 defensive contributions in the match and impressively made three of his four tackles. Mazraoui’s positioning was also excellent, as he made six clearances and an interception to protect his goal. The United man was also incredibly combative against the Super Eagles. He won an impressive 11 ground duels out of 14 attempts and his only aerial duel. Attacking threat Mazraoui is not only a defender, but he can also contribute effectively in attack, as he did last night. The 28-year-old made two key passes in the match but did not complete his only cross attempt of the evening. The Moroccan also completed 58 passes during the match and kept the Nigerian defence busy by completing three out of his four dribble attempts. He also played the entire 120 minutes of action but was not required to step up to take a penalty. History Mazraoui becomes the first United player to make it to the AFCON final, as Quinton Fortune’s third-place finish with South Africa was previously the best ever finish for a Red Devil. Ivory Coast did win the competition in 2024, but Amad was not part of the squad. Mazraoui will hope to continue the history-making and become the first United winner of the AFCON. Noussair Mazraoui stats vs Nigeria MetricValue Goals0 Assists0 Defensive contributions11 Tackles (won)4 (3) Interceptions1 Clearances6 Blocked shots0 Recoveries7 Ground duels (won)14 (11) Aerial duels (won)3 (1) Fouls1 Dribbled past0 Key passes2 Crosses (accurate)1 (0) Accurate passes58 / 70 (83%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)39 / 48 (81%) Passes in own half (acc.)19 / 22 (86%) Long balls (accurate)8 / 9 (89%) Touches108 Unsuccessful touches3 Dribbles (successful)4 (3) Was fouled4 Possession lost18 Total shots0 Shots on target0 Shots blocked0 Featured image Justin Setterfield 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 Latest Top Stories… Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.