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Samuel Luckhurst tears into Man Utd dud in Aston Villa defeat
Samuel Luckhurst slammed a Manchester United player for his performance in the 2-1 defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.
Man Utd fall to defeat at Villa Park
Taking all three points at Villa Park was always going to be a tall order, with Unai Emery’s side in red-hot form, but Man United will be very disappointed to have come away with nothing, falling short in a 2-1 defeat.
A Morgan Rogers brace was enough to secure all three points for the hosts, who are now just three points behind top of the table Arsenal, while United remain in seventh place.
With Casemiro suspended and Kobbie Mainoo sidelined, Ruben Amorim gave Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte the nod in central midfield, but the manager was forced to withdraw his captain at half-time due to an injury.
Ugarte remained on the pitch until the 73rd minute, being replaced by Joshua Zirkzee, but he arguably could’ve been taken off earlier, having put in a disappointing performance, making one error leading to a shot and being dribbled past twice.
Luckhurst lost his patience with the Uruguayan in the first half, describing him as “scandalous” after putting Senne Lammens under needless pressure in the first half.
The midfielder has had a terrible record as a starter in the Premier League for quite some time, and he was unable to put things right this afternoon.
Casemiro’s absence was major blow for Amorim
Casemiro being unavailable was a real blow for Amorim, given the way in which he has turned things around over the past year, putting in some very impressive performances at both ends of the pitch.
|
Casemiro’s key statistics |
Average per 90 (past year) |
|
Tackles |
3.83 (99th percentile) |
|
Blocks |
2.33 (99th percentile) |
|
Non penalty-goals |
0.23 (94th percentile) |
|
Clearances |
2.67 (92nd percentile) |
Amorim has also singled the Brazilian out for high praise, saying after the victory against Brighton earlier this season: “He’s so important for us. Today he run (sic) a lot. He had to press so high and then return, and he’s doing that. So, I’m really pleased with him. And the other guys need to look at Casemiro.”
Ugarte, on the other hand, has never managed to establish himself as a key player for United, often being limited to appearances as a substitute, and Man United should look to cash-in this January, should they manage to bring in another midfielder.
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