Ruben Amorim will be monitoring how his players perform over the international break. (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images)
Manuel Ugarte played 90 minutes as Uruguay were held to a 1-1 draw with Bolivia last night.
The jury is still out on the Manchester United man, who’s retained a starting role under Ruben Amorim in recent months.
That being said, injuries to Kobbie Mainoo and, previously, Toby Collyer meant there was little room for Ugarte to drop out of the XI due to the lack of depth at the coach’s disposal.
He was acquired late in the summer window to bolster then-manager Erik ten Hag’s midfield, arriving at the same time counterpart Scott McTominay bid farewell to his boyhood club to sign for Napoli in a £25.7 million deal.
Some fans would still argue that they’d have preferred to keep the Carrington graduate rather than acquire his replacement – primarily because of how much of a talisman he’s become in Naples this season.
Ugarte has a mare on international duty
Nonetheless, Ugarte, 23, remains a mainstay for his nation, allowing Reds to keep tabs on how he’s fared over the current break in club action.
For Friday’s 1-0 defeat to reigning world champions Argentina, the Paris Saint-Germain loanee was suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards. He was swiftly restored to the starting line-up for Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier – and struggled.
According to statistics relayed by Sofascore at full-time, Ugarte won only eight of his 24 attempted ground duels and zero aerial duels on the night. He recorded a passing rate of only 64 per cent, completing 14 of his 22 passes, and was successful in only two of his eight attempted dribbles.
What’s more concern, the 28-capped star was dribbled past nine times and lost possession a whopping 14 times, making for a somewhat concerning display – especially if Amorim was keeping tabs on the stalemate.
