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Ruben Amorim explains why he did not start Manuel Ugarte for Man United vs Ipswich Town
Ruben Amorim made some bold decisions in his first Manchester United starting lineup vs Ipswich Town.
As expected, Ruben Amorim instructed United to line up in a 3-4-3 formation against Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon.
The 39-year-old has had huge success with that system in Portugal and during Amorim’s first interview he made it clear that he will immediately start building United’s new identity.
However, there were still lots of question marks around who will play where under Amorim – and he sprung a few surprises when United’s confirmed XI vs Ipswich was released.
Amorim made bold decisions across the pitch with Marcus Rashford starting up front, Amad Diallo starting as a wing-back and Noussair Mazraoui slotting into the back three. Many also expected £42m summer signing Manuel Ugarte to start.
Ruben Amorim explains why Manuel Ugarte did not start vs Ipswich Town
Manuel Ugarte endured a fairly slow start to the season after joining United but his performances have continued to improve match by match.
Casemiro hailed Ugarte’s impact on United, with much of his hard work in midfield going unnoticed.
Frankly, Ugarte was one of United’s best performers under Ruud van Nistelrooy and supporters expected Ugarte to play a key role under Amorim.
However, he missed out on a starting spot for Amorim’s first game against Ipswich, and United’s new boss explained why before kick-off.
“I tried to use all the training we had during this week. So we had, for example, Casemiro more time to train,” Amorim told the media.
“Ugarte only had one day to train. So we tried to use the players that I passed more information on to. I think that was a key point.”
Manuel Ugarte will still be a key player for Ruben Amorim
Despite missing out on a starting spot against Ipswich, there should be no doubt that Ugarte is still very much in Amorim’s long-term plans.
Ugarte previously worked with Amorim at Sporting and thrived in his system. He will know what to expect having made 85 appearances under him.
Unfortunately for Ugarte, he returned very late from international duty after starring for Uruguay over the November international break.
READ MORE: Uruguayan media react to Manuel Ugarte performance as Man United star hailed a ‘lion’ vs Brazil
It meant he hardly had a chance to train before Sunday’s match rolled around.
Expect Ugarte to star in the Europa League against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday evening.
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