Amrabat Shines in Man United Debut, Boosts Team Performance in Cup Win

Manchester United did not make a mistake in signing Sofyan Amrabat. Titled on Tuesday for the match against Crystal Palace (3-0), in the 16th round of the League Cup, the Moroccan international impressed the fans but also his teammates by raising the level of performance of his club across the entire field and giving a glimpse of the type of football the team is capable of playing when it has a versatile midfielder. His coach Erik ten Hag asked him to play on the left flank (left-back), with Sergio Reguilon, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia all injured. A challenge he took up. Better, he played all over the field, appearing in midfield when United had possession of the ball, before returning to the left-back position when they lost the ball.

Thanks to his high-quality cross passes, Amrabat constantly directed the game towards Diogo Dalot, while working in tandem with Alejandro Garnacho, who had one of his best performances with United from a defensive point of view. He also allowed Casemiro to have one of his best performances of the season. The Brazilian scored the Mancunians’ second goal before setting up Anthony Martial for the third. Finally, the positioning sense of the Lion of the Atlas allowed Mason Mount to focus more on the attack. Amrabat had a 96% pass accuracy rate, higher than all the other players on the field who made 10 or more passes. "I told the manager I’ll play wherever you need me, wherever the team needs me, even as a goalkeeper," he told Sky Sports after the game.

Ivan Juric, Amrabat’s former coach at Hellas Verona, is not surprised by these performances. "Amrabat is the biggest surprise of my life. We all thought he was just a physical midfielder, but he’s shown he has great tactical depth in his game. He cared about the jersey, his teammates and the coaching staff. He plays until he dies," he testified to the newspaper The Athletic, acknowledging that the Moroccan international deserves credit for turning Verona’s situation around when he left the Bruges club in January 2020, when the club was at risk of being relegated from Serie A. At the time, he finished ninth and Amrabat won the club’s Player of the Year award.

Manchester United host Crystal Palace at Old Trafford this Saturday in the Premier League. The former is ranked 9th in the English championship, the latter 10th. Sofyan will certainly make an impression in this match.