Uruguayan media react to Manuel Ugarte performance vs Ecuador

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Manuel Ugarte was back in action for Uruguay on Tuesday night, but there will be a concern.

For Manchester United, the signing of Manuel Ugarte has yet to really show itself to be the correct one after his early season struggles.

Despite being a £42m arrival, Ugarte has struggled at United so far and pundits have already been writing the Uruguayan off.

The lowest moment of his time at United so far will be when Erik ten Hag left Ugarte out against Porto and Aston Villa.

Ugarte impressed for his country against Peru, and now against Ecuador to round out the international break, he has once again demonstrated some impressive qualities – despite an 82nd-minute withdrawal through injury.

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What Uruguayan media have been saying about Manuel Ugarte

After his Tuesday night outing, Ugarte received plenty of reviews from the Uruguayan press.

The notable outlet from his country, El Pais was among those to issue a rating, scoring Ugarte at a solid 6/10 and also explained why: “He was effective in his defensive role and helped both in the distribution of the ball and in the coverage behind the back.

“In the second half, when Ecuador managed to get ahead several meters on the court, he played an essential role in the recovery of the ball, both in the centre of the field and having to go out to the sides.”

After this, El Observador handed Ugarte a slightly less complimentary review of 5/10: “Little participative in the middle of the court, even with some error with the ball. He lost more than he won in midfield. He was far from his usual performance. At about the 80th minute, he was injured and left the court.”

Montevideo also got in on the act, critiquing Ugarte’s ‘imprecision’ on the ball: “He returned to the sector where he best accommodates the team, with a containment steering wheel. Attentive to close and collaborate with the defence, being easy to play, always trying to find Valverde or De Arrascaeta, and with some imprecision when he risked something else.”

Finally, the notable outlet La Diaria labelled Ugarte as ‘silent’ but praised the balance he brought – something we hope he shows for United: “A silent player, who did not make bad decisions and made the balance of the team and the coverage every time the laterals went on the attack. He was injured.”

Despite being slightly less convincing than his normal performances for Uruguay, Ugarte was still better than he has been for United and Ten Hag will be desperate to extract this player.

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How Manchester United’s Ugarte fared in international action

For his country, Ugarte is often the best player on the football pitch and that remained true despite some disappointing aspects on Tuesday night – such as being dribbled past twice.

Ugarte lasted 82 minutes before he was withdrawn through injury – something which will be of serious concern to Ten Hag.

During this time, Ugarte showed some very positive aspects to his game.

• 39/44 (89%) passes completed
• 1 chances created
• 57 touches
• 3/4 (75%) tackles won
• 1 block
• 1 clearance
• 2 interceptions
• 8 defensive actions
• 7 recoveries
• 5 duels won

This demonstrated that he has not lost the qualities which convinced Ineos to sign him but rather is yet to implement them at Old Trafford.

A display like this from Ugarte would be very welcome this weekend as United take on Brentford – all assuming the injury was a precaution.