Fewer touches than De Gea: Man United liability who lost 66% duels let Ten Hag down
Last night, Manchester United took a step toward sealing Champions League qualifying, but a late comeback from Tottenham Hotspur might have made it inevitable.
After leading 2-0 at the half, Ryan Mason’s revitalized Lilywhites narrowed the gap just over ten minutes into the second half. It would take until the 79th minute for the home team to equalize after the home crowd had gotten back into the game.
Heung-min Son scored the third goal in four Premier League games as the game ended 2-2.
This puts the Red Devils four points ahead of Spurs with two games remaining and with a significant advantage over everyone else despite the different position in terms of games played. Erik ten Hag will be disappointed by how the draw was handled because last night’s game was crucial.
His team’s recent 120-minute grind against Brighton and Hove Albion was obviously having an impact, as seen by his changes and rotation during their most recent game.
Although Aaron Wan-Bissaka was widely praised for his performance at Wembley, he later reverted to the unimpressive performance that had previously sparked complaints. The former Crystal Palace star had a forgettable evening in north London, hesitant to attack and occasionally unconvincing defensively.
How did Aaron Wan-Bissaka contribute to the matchup with Tottenham Hotspur?
Fatigue may have contributed to the £90k per week dud’s decline in performance from a 7.4 Sofascore rating in an FA Cup semifinal to 6.6 last night, but that doesn’t explain the fact that he repeatedly came close to disappointing his manager.
After receiving a caution late in the first half, Wan-Bissaka always had the impression that one more errant tackle would result in a red card. In order to safeguard him, his Dutch supervisor made the decision to send him home early.
The full-back had only 47 touches and an 83% pass accuracy in 71 minutes on the field. According to Sofascore, the 26-year-old, who prefers to remain creatively unknown, made two dribbling attempts and three crosses but was unsuccessful in finding anyone.
Even David De Gea had more touches of the ball (48), which serves to further emphasize their lack of impact on the game.
The ordinarily imposing defender did, however, startlingly show that, as journalist Andrew McDonnell had previously called him, he can occasionally be a “liability.”
In fact, he lost six of his six duels, a worrying statistic for someone who is often so reliable in one-on-one combat. His manager fired him because of this fear before he had let his squad down.
Although he would contend that fatigue played a role in their subpar performance, their persistent conflict on several fronts makes this far from an acceptable explanation. Last night, Wan-Bissaka was just not himself.