Manuel Ugarte was ‘excellent’ vs Fenerbahce but was outshone by 83-touch Man United star with even more tackles

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Manuel Ugarte enjoyed his best performance in a Manchester United shirt during the 1-1 draw with Fenerbahce.

Manchester United’s £42m summer signing was one of four changes made to the starting lineup by Erik ten Hag to face Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.

Ten Hag also handed a new role to Noussair Mazraoui as he experimented with a “new system”. United fans agreed that the Mazraoui experiment failed, but Manuel Ugarte easily had his best performance since joining the club.

This was Ugarte’s game to kickstart his Man United career and he took the opportunity with both hands.

Ugarte ended the match with two tackles, three interceptions and four clearances – including an incredible goal-line clearance in the first half.

Manuel Ugarte was ‘excellent’ vs Fenerbahce

There was a huge excitement around Ugarte’s arrival in Manchester this summer with fans hoping he would come in and fix all of the problems in midfield.

He didn’t quite have the immediate impact that fans would have hoped for, but Ugarte is settling in well and it is showing in his improved performances.

Ugarte was a standout player for United in Turkey and was hailed as “excellent” by journalist Simon Stone.

Via BBC Sports, Stone said: “There have been quite a few doubts expressed over Manuel Ugarte since his £50m move from PSG but the Uruguayan has been superb so far.

“It is not just his outstanding block. He has also slotted into United’s backline to deny Fenerbahce space and been industrious in partrolling the area in front of the visitors back four.”

Ugarte was brought in to break up play and protect the back four and he did it brilliantly against Fenerbahce but one Manchester United teammate also deserves his flowers.

Lisandro Martinez put on a masterclass vs Fenerbahce

Martinez starred in a left-back role against Brentford on the weekend and he kept his spot out wide against Fenerbahce.

The 26-year-old let Ten Hag down in his last Europa League display against Porto but Martinez earned his shot at redemption.

“The butcher” was defensively superb once again and ended the match with even more tackles and duels won than Ugarte.

READ MORE: Five things learned from Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Fenerbahce

Martinez captained United in Bruno Fernandes’ absence and ended the match with 84 touches – the most of any United player on the night.

He completed three tackles, made four clearances and won eight of his 12 duels. Martinez was also incredibly composed on the ball, completing 94 percent of his passes despite the fiery atmosphere.