Kobbie Mainoo was a standout player for Manchester United during their 2-0 win over Manchester City and an extraordinary statistic from the game has emerged.
Manchester United were excellent on the weekend during Michael Carrick’s first game in charge of the club this term.
The Reds won 2-0 and that scoreline was flattering for Pep Guardiola’s side, who were second-best in every aspect on the day.
Kobbie Mainoo made his first Premier League start of the campaign and produced an excellent display in the middle of the park alongside Casemiro.
United fans loved the moment when he sent City new-boy Antoine Semenyo with a silky turn inside his own half, but it was another aspect of his game which stood out even more.
Mainoo’s ‘extraordinary’ statistic vs Man City has proven Amorim horribly wrong
Mainoo has been accused of not having the engine or physicality to get around the midfield. That was one of the main reasons why he didn’t start for Ruben Amorim.
Against City, however, that didn’t look like a problem at all and statistics have shown that Mainoo was ‘extraordinary’ out-of-possession on Saturday.
Mainoo applied 77 high pressures in the game against City, only bettered by the 81 from Bruno Fernandes. In fact, apart from Fernandes against City and Chelsea, and Benjamin Šeško versus Sunderland, no player has applied more pressures in a game for United this season than Mainoo.
| Player / Game | High pressures |
| 1. Benjamin Šeško / Sunderland | 95 |
| 2. Bruno Fernandes / Chelsea | 87 |
| 3. Bruno Fernandes / Man City | 81 |
| 4. Kobbie Mainoo / Man City | 77 |
| 4. Manuel Ugarte / Newcastle | 77 |
Fernandes and Šeško are both physical freaks. Mainoo’s 77 pressures against City was the same as Manuel Ugarte’s best against Newcastle. Ugarte was viewed as a superior option to Mainoo off-the-ball under Amorim.
Then when you add the protection and quality he gives you with the ball at his feet, and it is a wonder how Mainoo’s first start in the Premier League this season was five months into the campaign.
Mainoo will keep getting chances under Carrick
There were various talking points from that win on the weekend but Mainoo’s inclusion and performance is one of the main ones.
TV cameras picked up the academy graduate and Carrick hugging at full-time with big smiles on both of their faces. Carrick already made it clear during previous interviews that he rates the midfielder highly.
Read More: Manchester United to hold ‘internal meeting’ with Michael Carrick about sudden January transfer
Reports have also suggested that the new head coach had been working closely with Mainoo in the limited amount of training they’ve had together so far.
It seems like Mainoo will continue to play under Carrick and he has proven that the biggest concern Amorim had over him is not actually that much of an issue.
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