One Manchester United star showed where his best position is against Lyon, and he must start there for Rúben Amorim against Newcastle.
The first leg of Manchester United’s Europa League quarter-final clash with Olympique Lyonnais ended in a 2-2 draw, with André Onana facing criticism for a lacklustre performance.
The match began with Lyon dominating possession for the first 20 minutes, but Rasmus Højlund missed the game’s first clear-cut opportunity. Shortly after, Bruno Fernandes saw his powerful shot deflected over the crossbar.
Lyon took the lead in the 25th minute through Thiago Almada, whose free-kick cross eluded everyone, including Onana, and bounced into the net. With Lyon gaining momentum, Leny Yoro equalized just before the break.
Both teams had limited chances in the second half but were unable to find the back of the net. United, under Rúben Amorim, looked to push for a winner, introducing Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount. Alejandro Garnacho came close to scoring with a near-post effort, but Lyon’s goalkeeper, Lucas Perri, kept the ball out.
As the match neared its end, United thought they had snatched a late winner when a brilliant cross from Fernandes found Zirkzee, who headed it in from close range. However, in the dying moments, Rayan Cherki struck back for Lyon, ensuring the spoils were shared in France.
Mazraoui was “excellent” vs Lyon
Although United conceded two goals on the night, it must be said that their defensive line actually put in a pretty decent performance.
While Yoro will rightly receive plenty of praise for his display, Noussair Mazraoui was also “excellent” on the night, firmly keeping Lyon’s front line on lockdown across most of the fixture.
As for his defensive statistics, he was impressive. He performed 12 defensive actions in South France, making four clearances and three blocks. He also made three recoveries and was only dribbled past twice during what was an end-to-end fixture.
On the ball, he was also as good. He completed 58 of his 62 attempted passes, having 79 touches of the ball and making two passes into the final third across the 90 minutes.
Mazraoui must start vs Newcastle
Although the Morrocan international was initially signed as a right-back to replace the departing Aaron Wan-Bissaka, he has come into his own as a centre-back under Amorim.
Although he has played across the backline, his performance against Lyon shows more than anything that this best position at the club is as a right centre-back.
Beyond playing well there, this also allows Yoro to thrive on the left-hand side amid the absence of Lisandro Martínez and Ayden Heaven.
Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire have shown themselves to be best fit for the middle centre-back position, which gives Amorim balance across his back line.
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