The Moroccan star soon proved his worth in his first start for Manchester United.
Despite winning their away trip to Burnley’s stadium, over the weekend, it can be said that Manchester United disappointed many fans. Certainly, no one could have expected that coach Erik Ten Hag and his team would be completely overwhelmed by the team ranked at the bottom of the table, both in terms of ball control rate (62% – 38%) and number of shots (12 – 11). ).
Therefore, entering the confrontation with Crystal Palace in the League Cup framework, it was obvious that Man Utd was expected to continue experiencing a difficult 90 minutes. But in the end, what happened on the field was completely different, when the Red Devils dominated the entire match and destroyed coach Roy Hodgson’s army in a more convincing way.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Sofyan Amrabat’s presence is one of the main reasons why Man Utd changed dramatically compared to the win over Burnley. After all, Amrabat also made his first start under the Red Devils shirt, and he quickly showed why coach Erik Ten Hag wanted to secure his services in the summer transfer window.
In the first 45 minutes of the match, the Moroccan star basically played as a left-back, but he moved freely around the field and acted as a satellite, allowing Man Utd to maintain control the ball, holding most of the game. Amrabat rarely loses the ball or passes the ball to the wrong address, and at the same time impresses with his accurate passes.
Entering the second half, Amrabat only played less than 20 minutes before giving way to Dan Gore, but he still had time to leave a strong impression when paired with Casemiro in the midfield. The appearance of Victor Lindelof as a left wing-back allowed Amrabat to return to his natural midfielder role, and he was able to share some of the burden with Casemiro on the defensive front.
According to data from Sofascore, Amrabat had 2 accurate tackles against Palace, winning 5/6 duels. And as mentioned, Amrabat also affirmed his impressive passing ability with 78/81 passes at the correct address, achieving an accuracy rate of up to 96%. At the same time, he also left a huge impression with 6/5 accurate passes.
Since the beginning of the season until now, perhaps this is the first time Man Utd has been able to completely control the game and win like a real “big man”, and clearly, the difference lies in what Amrabat does. brings to the Red Devils’ playing style. Certainly, whether playing in defense or midfield, the presence of the Moroccan midfielder will help Man Utd more easily maintain control, as happened in the last match.