Erik ten Hag’s pursuit of Sofyan Amrabat turned into a lengthy summer-long affair, yet the highly praised loan signing for Manchester United was labeled a “fish out of water” on his Premier League debut.
If last Saturday’s 1-0 victory at Burnley and Tuesday’s easy Carabao Cup victory over Crystal Palace had seemed to relieve some of the strain, the Eagles added to it after their second trip to Old Trafford in a week. United suffered its fourth league loss of the year thanks to a first-half goal from Joachim Andersen.
Amrabat, who joined United on a season-long loan from Fiorentina, made his debut for the club in the midweek cup game, however he played left back rather than his preferred position in center midfield. Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw’s injuries have currently left Ten Hag lacking in that area.
For his first game in England’s top division, he started in the same position and suffered as a result. His performance was also noticed by BBC 5 Live analyst Chris Sutton, who focused on one particular subpar play in the second half.
“A goalie would be pleased of that,” said Sutton, “given away a free kick, being driven back towards his own goal by (Jordan) Ayew and he palms it. He appeared uncomfortable playing as the left back today, like a fish out of water.
The former Blackburn and Celtic striker, on the other hand, praised the opposition’s back four, adding in especially that Guehi and Andersen, the center backs, had been “absolute rocks.”
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Before hosting Man City on October 29, the Red Devils still have four crucial matches left. A home match against Brentford and a trip to the bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United are sandwiched between crucial Champions League matches with Galatasaray and Copenhagen.
One of the important decisions confronting the Dutchman is where to use Amrabat, one of the stars of Morocco’s 2022 World Cup campaign in Qatar. In the midfield versus Palace, Mason Mount and Casemiro were preferred, but both underwhelmed in a sluggish collective performance.
With only nine points after seven games, United is currently 10th in the standings. Their most recent loss confirmed that they are off to their poorest seven-match top-flight record in 34 years.
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