Erik ten Hag’s ideal win was scripted vs Southampton as in must-win territory, the players he had backed in the face of all criticism came through for him.
Matthijs de Ligt shook off a terrible international break and came back roaring for his club, while Marcus Rashford broke his goalscoring duck too.
It allowed him to introduce Manuel Ugarte to the team in much easier circumstances than Toby Collyer when he came on for his league debut.
Ugarte played the last 17 minutes of the game, a time in which the opponent was reduced to ten men, making the job even easier.
Even so, he had a perfect display, showing signs that at his best, he is exactly what Manchester United need at the base of their midfield.
Manuel Ugarte’s numbers vs Southampton
There should always be an asterisk attached to stats when the sample size is just 17 minutes of football, half of it against ten men.
However, it was still commendable that Ugarte played a perfect game. He completed all 13 of his passes, won both his attempted tackles, won three out of four ground duels, and managed three ball recoveries in a short span of time.
It was a small example of the all-action midfielder United have signed, one who has the legs of peak Casemiro, while combining his combativeness and underrated ball-playing ability.
His pass into the final third was a thing of beauty, further stressing his own point that his skill on the ball is vastly underrated.
Aside from that, defensive phases and winning the ball back is where he excels and that was on clear display vs Southampton.
A soft landing into English football is the ideal scenario for Ugarte after he missed the whole of pre-season.
After this short and sweet cameo, this will continue, as League One opposition Barnsley are next in Carabao Cup.
Ugarte’s role at Man Utd
The game against Southampton was a microcosm of what his role at United will be. Christian Eriksen was a shock selection call that paid off, but he won’t start regularly.
Casemiro is firmly backup to Ugarte so the Uruguayan will be doing the heavy lifting at the base of United’s midfield.
Therefore, it is necessary that he learns about playing next to Kobbie Mainoo, as that deep pivot looks like the way forward for United.
His underrated ball-playing skills will also be needed if Ten Hag is intent on pressing from the front and playing from the back.
It was clear from Ten Hag’s first season at Old Trafford that for this team to tick, the defensive midfielder must be all-conquering.
It was Casemiro in the 2022/23 season, it needs to be Ugarte now, a much younger and energised version of the Brazilian.
The early signs are good. Now he just needs to build on it and get up to speed on the job, which is the reality at a club like Manchester United.
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