Manchester United reached cloud nine with a thumping win over bitter rivals Manchester City in Michael Carrick’s first game in charge. The Red Devils won 2-0, but the scoreline tells only half the story – United hit the post twice and saw three goals ruled out for marginal offsides. Dorgu dynamite Carrick seems to have lit a fire under a group of players who struggled for energy and dynamism under Ruben Amorim, and Patrick Dorgu was a particular livewire. The Dane was deployed on the left wing and was devastating, giving City full-back Rico Lewis a torrid time. Dorgu won more duels than anyone else on the pitch, coming out on top ten times from 16 attempts. This breaks down as eight successful ground duels from 13, and two aerial duels won from a possible three. He was also United’s most-fouled player, showing how much of a handful he was for the visiting defence. Complete performance But the headline-grabbing stat for Dorgu is that he scored a goal, doubling United’s lead to put the hosts in a commanding position. He had two shots on target, the joint-most of anyone on the pitch. Not only was the 21-year-old one of United’s biggest attacking threats, he was a perfect example of defending from the front. No player on the pitch made more tackles than Dorgu’s four, and he also chipped in with one clearance and one interception. Operating from the wing, the Dane made one key pass and found his man with the one long ball he attempted. Dorgu completed 23 of 30 attempted passes, recording a 77% completion rate. The one cross he pinged in was not accurate. Patrick Dorgu vs Manchester City PlayerPatrick Dorgu Goals1 Expected goals (xG)0.47 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0.02 Key passes1 Crosses (accurate)1 (0) Accurate passes23/30 (77%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)14/19 (74%) Passes in own half (acc.)9/11 (82%) Long balls (accurate)1/1 (100%) Total shots2 Expected goals on target (xGOT)1 Shots on target2 Shots blocked0 Offsides1 Touches49 Unsuccessful touches1 Dribbles (successful)2 (1) Was fouled3 Possession lost12 Def. contributions6 Tackles (won)4 (2) Interceptions1 Clearances1 Blocked shots0 Recoveries9 Ground duels (won)13 (8) Aerial duels (won)3 (2) Fouls1 Dribbled past1 Having turned in such a fine performance, Dorgu looks set for a key role under Carrick and is destined to start against Arsenal next week. All stats taken from sofascore. Featured image Carl Recine 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 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. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.
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