Manchester United have found their

Manchester United have found their missing piece

It’s already been a tumultuous season for Manchester United with plenty of drama surrounding manager Erik ten Hag.

Even though the Dutch coach brought the Red Devils back to the Champions League in a successful first season, questions are being asked about his ability to manage the club in the long term, with the dispute between himself and high-priced winger Jadon Sancho not exactly helping to inspire confidence in his man-management.

United made significant progress last season defensively, and with Marcus Rashford finding his best self in the second half of the season, the team did enough offensively to ensure a third-place finish in an increasingly unpredictable Premier League (well, save for Manchester City).

But this season, Manchester United sit ninth in the table after six matches. They have conceded more than they have scored, allowing a whopping 10 goals in 6 matches, plus an additional 4 in their Champions League opener vs. Bayern Munich.

Manchester United fans looking for some positivity, though, definitely found it on Tuesday night against Crystal Palace in the League Cup.

Currently 10th in the league and just one point behind United, Palace actually proved to be less than no threat to the Red Devils in the cup. United had this one in the bag, dominating the Eagles 3-0 with full control of the pitch in and out of possesssion.

It is a stretch too far to say that one player was entirely responsible for this victory, but new midfielder Sofyan Amrabat clearly stood out with his level of quality on and off the ball.

The new loan signing from Fiorentina was one of the most coveted holding midfielders in the transfer market, and it is a surprise United could sign him for just 35 million euros total permanently at the end of the season.

Although Amrabat is, on paper, expected to play in a deep-lying role next to Casemiro to anchor the midfield as double-6s, fellow new signing Mason Mount actually occupied that role against Crystal Palace.

Amrabat, instead, played as an inverted left back, drifting inside and pushing up as an auxiliary midfielder.

The tactical wrinkle from ten Hag worked out extremely well. Amrabat made it work with his ability to find space and make himself available for passes, picking out progressive options when on the ball.

The World Cup semifinalist completed a team-high 96.3 percent of his 81 pass attempts in just an hour of action, teasing his future impact on the team’s possession structure.

Amrabat is a great defensive presence, too, as he showed by winning two tackles. He also drew three fouls, which he was famous for against Fiorentina.

With his strength and ability to turn, he can hold off defenders and force fouls, enabling his team to have an even greater hold on the game.

Manchester United needed that. They need a player like Amrabat who is versatile, composed on the ball, and able to find pockets of space and then distribute the received ball to a player in a more dangerous situation.

Bruno Fernandes and Mount can benefit greatly from Amrabat by being fed his passes into those central attacking areas.

It’s not that Amrabat alone solves everything, but he does indeed look like a crucial missing piece to the midfield and team structural issues that were hurting Manchester United, particularly when it comes to their overall defensive stability.

Joe Soriano
Joe Soriano
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