88% pass accuracy, 71% ground duels won: United star plays key role in crucial away draw for nation

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Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte impressed as Uruguay earned a valuable away point in a 1-1 draw against Brazil in Salvador in World Cup qualifying.

The Uruguayans had eight shots to their opponent’s 18 and kept 38% of the possession, as they worked hard defensively to stay second in the table.

After his heroics against Colombia last week, Ugarte regained his place in the starting line up in the centre of a midfield three alongside goalscorer on the night, Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Bentancur.

The United man was given a score of 6.9 on Sofascore as he played the entire 90 minutes of action for La Celeste.

He had 47 touches of the ball and kept the play ticking over well as he made 28 out of his 32 passes for a pass accuracy of 88%.

He had less success playing the ball long though, as he was only able to connect with one of his five long range attempts.

Ugarte has already become known to United fans for his combative nature and tireless efforts out of possession and this is something incoming coach Ruben Amorim will want to exploit as he aims to bring more intensity to the club’s play.

The Uruguay international showed this off as he won five out of his seven ground duels and one of out his two aerial contests in a vital midfield battle.

He was also strong defensively, making five clearances for his nation, one interception and a total of three tackles.

Gaining crucial results away from home also calls for calm heads and he displayed this by impressively only giving away one foul in the whole contest.

It has been a big year for the Montevideo native as he has represented his nation a massive 15 times this calendar year and has solidified himself as a first team regular. At only 23 years old, there is certainly likely to be many more appearances for the two time world champions.

As for his club form, Ugarte has had an up and down start to his United career since joining in the summer, but he has shown more promise of late and is likely to be one of the main beneficiaries of his former coach arriving to the Old Trafford dugout.

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