Ruben Amorim refuses to single out ‘essential’ Manchester United star after Liverpool draw, it is perfect management

Ruben Amorim refused to single out one Manchester United player for praise after the 2-2 draw against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester United secured a hard-fought point on the road, drawing 2-2 against Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Ruben Amorim’s side delivered a strong first-half display and opened the scoring shortly after the break with a thunderous strike from Lisandro Martínez.

Liverpool responded swiftly as Cody Gakpo rifled a shot into the top corner after Matthijs de Ligt struggled to contain his compatriot on the right flank.

Controversy arose when the hosts were awarded a penalty following a VAR review. De Ligt was penalised for handball, despite valid claims that Alexis Mac Allister’s close-range header left the defender with no time to react.

Referee Michael Oliver overturned his initial decision after consulting the VAR monitor, and Mo Salah converted the penalty to give Liverpool the lead.

United refused to back down, and Amad Diallo equalised after a well-worked move down the left. In the dying moments, Harry Maguire nearly snatched a winner for the visitors, but his effort sailed just over the bar.

Ugarte’s brilliant performance in United vs Liverpool

Manuel Ugarte was one of the best players on the pitch at Anfield as he put in another very solid performance that caused fans to label him as ‘essential’ to the team.

Since Amorim took charge, the 23-year-old midfielder has been one of the best players and he produced his best display for United’s bitter rivals.

Ugarte won three tackles and eight duels during the clash, while also being very good in possession – with five successful long passes and an 88 per cent overall pass accuracy.

It feels like the Uruguayan is brimming with confidence on the pitch at the moment, which was probably defined by his last-minute clearance that somehow evaded four Liverpool players and put his team back on the attack.

Amorim refuses to single out Ugarte for praise

Amorim has been impressing in his interviews lately and when he was asked about Ugarte, that trend seemed to continue.

The Portuguese boss had been extremely clear in his praise of the team’s mentality after full-time but expressed his anger that it is not able to happen on a consistent basis.

He wants everyone on their toes and did not want to single Ugarte, a player he previously managed at Sporting, out for praise.

“I think I don’t want to talk about just Ugarte… Ugarte is the only guy I know really well,” responded Amorim.

“Everybody [deserves praise], even in the bench. Today they faced the competition in a different way. It’s so simple but so difficult to explain here, so it’s so clear for everybody.”

It is clear that Ugarte was very important in that win, but United need to act as a collective to continue getting results and performances like that.

Amorim seems very careful with how he praises and criticises individual players, especially straight after a match. There are positive signs amidst the chaos.

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