Manuel Ugarte’s Premier League display at Old Trafford had Manchester United fans deeply divided after Leeds United sealed a key 2-1 Premier League win on Monday.
Leeds United took a 1-0 lead over Manchester United early into Monday’s clash after Noah Okafor expertly connected with Jayden Bogle’s dangerous cross from the right.
Man Utd faced an uphill battle against Leeds in the first half after Noah Okafor beat Senne Lammens for the second time in the Premier League match at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils trailed Leeds 2-0 in the second half and United would be reduced to 10 men after Lisandro Martinez was sent off for a hair pull on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
United reduced Leeds’ deficit in the 69th minute after Casemiro connected with Bruno Fernandes’ cross and turned in a thumping header at the back post.
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Man Utd fans’ reaction to Manuel Ugarte during their Premier League performance vs Leeds United speaks volumes
Manchester United fans in United In Focus’ TalkingPoints platform were deeply torn over the midfield influence of Manuel Ugarte against Leeds United at Old Trafford.
A Red Devils supporter wrote: “BIG BIG SCAPEGOAT! [sic] Ugarte got booed before he even touched the ball, despite Casemiro being at fault for the first goal.”
“He absolutely got overwhelmed, but Casemiro did last season. Same gaps were there today, unfortunately, not to the fault of either CM,” another posted.
While a third Man Utd fan suggested: “Think the main miss was [Kobbie] Mainoo, both Case and Mainoo are press-resistant and Ugarte often lacks composure in build-up, and when being pressed.”
Someone else added: “He doesn’t fit in. Just passing the ball sideways, no thrust or forward passes [and] not doing the hard work as well. No doubt we have played [worse] when he is in our team.”
And a fifth commented: “Think his problem today was that first half he was overwhelmed by the likes of [Ao] Tanaka, and was lucky to come out for the second half. That being said, he did better in the second 45.”
Another TalkingPoints user said: “Ugarte was shocking, Casemiro had a poor first 50/60 [minutes], the whole defence was a shambles for the first 60 [minutes]. Not 100 [per cent] sure why [Michael] Carrick took so long to make subs. That came up a lot during his time at Boro, I believe. Questions need to be asked in certain aspects.”
Was Manuel Ugarte that bad against Leeds, or is he just an easy scapegoat for bigger problems?
Michael Carrick suffered a major setback at Old Trafford in Man Utd’s top-four Premier League ambitions
Michael Carrick tasted defeat for the first time at Old Trafford since he replaced Ruben Amorim in the Red Devils hot seat as interim head coach back in January.
United have only lost twice in the Premier League in Michael Carrick’s 11 matches in charge so far, but the Red Devils dropped valuable points in Monday’s 2-1 defeat.
The Red Devils could have opened a three-point margin between themselves and fourth-place Aston Villa in the tail end of the 2025-26 Premier League season.
However, United remain level with Aston Villa ahead of their Premier League showdown against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
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