Sport

Sofyan Amrabat impresses fans on home debut for Manchester United — and the stats back it up

His passing, tackling and overall work rate were heavily praised.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 27th September 2023

Newest signing Sofyan Amrabat seriously impressed on his home debut for Manchester United and as well as winning over the Old Trafford faithful, he had the stats to back it up.

The Moroccan midfielder made a short cameo towards the end of Man United‘s 1-0 away win against Burnley over the weekend, being deployed as a makeshift left-back amid the club’s mounting injury woes, but it was Amrabat’s full home debut on Tuesday night that has got people talking.

Starting the game at fullback once again against Crystal Palace in the EFL Cup fixture, many were concerned they wouldn’t get to see the kind of performance that the 27-year-old was brought in for, however, after taking control early on in a comfortable 3-0 win he drifted into his more natural position.

In fact, much to the delight of the Stretford End and everyone else watching back home, he pretty much covered every position and blade of grass imaginable. If you don’t believe us, here’s his heat map after just an hour on the pitch.

A frankly ridiculous amount of graft.
The defensive midfielder had quite the passing range on him too — and he barely misplaced any in 60 minutes of football.
Admittedly, it was the kind of game they should expect to dominate in, but that hasn’t always been the case of late.

Writing on social media after the game, Amrabat said, “Fantastic feeling to play and win in the Theatre of DREAMS. Thank you for the support! Looking forward to Saturday”.

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Chatting with MUTV after full-time, the dynamic CDM was also full of praise for his new teammate in the middle of the park, Casemiro — who also shone on the night with a goal and an assist — stating: “It’s clear that [he] is a fantastic player. He’s one of the best in his position so it’s nice to play next to him there.”

The Fiorentina loanee, whose contract also includes an option to buy for an estimated fee of £21.4m, also took the time to speak with Sky Sports after his impressive debut, telling the reporter that he had “worked for his moment since [he was] a child”.

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He also took his utility role on the night in stride, assuring the fans that he’s happy to play anywhere the manager asks him to — even going so far as to say he’d do his best between the sticks if it came to it.

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Safe to say, we expect the new number four to be starting most of the upcoming fixtures, especially with Erik ten Hag‘s squad depleted in various different departments.

United take on Palace again in the Premier League this Saturday, 30 September, before playing their first home game of this year’s Champions League competition against Galatasaray on 3 October.

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What did you make of Amrabats’s home debut, Reds?

You can watch the highlights of Manchester United vs Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup below:

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Featured Image — Sofyan Amrabat (via Instagram)/Sky Sports (via Twitter)

Sport

Tyson Fury says he hasn’t spoken to his wife in ‘three months’ whilst preparing for Usyk rematch

Danny Jones Danny Jones Tyson Fury hasn't spoke to his wife Paris for three months preparing for Usyk 2 rematch

Tyson Fury says hasn’t spoken to his wife Paris for three whole months while preparing for the much-anticipated Oleksandr Usyk rematch.

The Manc fighter is set to face the Ukrainian counterpart in the ‘Undisputed’ sequel, simply dubbed Fury vs Usyk 2, which will result in one unified heavyweight champion of the world.

Usyk’s victory over the Wythenshawe-born boxer back in May saw him take that title for the first time since 1999 (the only man to have done so in the four-belt era) but with the rematch nearly upon us, Fury could be set to steal that title away from him.

With that in mind, the pressure has clearly been on ever since he lost the first bout and, according to Tyson himself, he hasn’t spoken to his wife Paris Fury for virtually a quarter of a year as part of his immensely strict training camp.

Speaking to TNT Sports ahead of the match this weekend, he claimed: “I haven’t spoke to Paris in three months – not a word. [I’ve] not spoke to anyone, I haven’t been on my phone.”

Explaining that he simply removed all distractions to get his head in the right space ahead of the title decider, ‘The Gypsy King’ has been known to isolate himself from the rest of the world before a big fight in the past, but cutting contact with your spouse of 10 years and partner for nearly two decades is wild.

The 36-year-old went on to detail that in order to give himself the best shot at winning, he couldn’t keep switching between “beast mode to dad mode to wife mode” and so on.

In separate interviews with other outlets ahead of the highly-awaited rematch, Fury has made various other big claims about what boxing fans can expect from his own performance, including an admission that he needs to be “more focused this time and not do as much showboating” in the ring.

Nevertheless, he also assured the media that he isn’t a quitter and has promised he will not just “f*** up” his 37-year-old opponent but “retire” him. Usyk, on the other hand, has warned he will be a different challenge than the last time the two faced each other, predicting a knockout victory too.

Having downed Tyson more than once the last time around, he’s understandably confident of his chances.

Bold words from the pair of them, indeed, but this is all just part and parcel of the usual pre-fight build-up; all we really know is that Usyk won the previous face-off and Fury is the one with the point to prove.

While younger brother Tommy Fury recently had to pull out of his scheduled fight against Darren Till, during which tensions seriously boiled over during the first press conference, it looks as though there is no risk of more cancellations and any more ‘will they won’t they?’ antics between these two at least.

The rematch, or ‘Fury vs Usyk 2: Undisputed’ to give use its full title (the latest in Saudi Arabia’s growing fight scene and live sports programming as part of Riyadh Season) takes place this Saturday, 21 December, with the two set to clash once again from 10:25 GMT.

Who do you think will emerge victorious from this one and, more importantly, when do you think we’ll see the third and ‘final’ fight when they inevitably demand a trilogy?…

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Featured Images — paul62_2017 (via Flickr)/Netflix (via screenshot)

Sport

A Manchester City fan has died after a medical incident at Manchester derby

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Manchester City has confirmed one of its supporters has died after a medical incident at the derby match. Credit: The Manc Group

A Manchester City fan has tragically passed away after a medical incident at the Manchester derby yesterday.

The club has confirmed that one of the club’s supporters died after collapsing during the match against Manchester United.

They wrote: “Manchester City are aware of the tragic news that one of our supporters passed away following a medical incident at yesterday’s match.

“The thoughts of everyone at the Club are with their family and friends at this incredibly difficult time.”

Man City and Manchester United faced off at the Etihad Stadium yesterday, with Man United eventually taking the win thanks to a 90th-minute goal by Amad Diallo.

An eyewitness told the Manchester Evening News they saw the fan being administered CPR at around 4:10pm.

People have been leaving tributes to the Manchester City fan, who has not yet been named, online.

One person wrote: “RIP that city fan. No one should go to a football match and not come home again. RIP”

Another said: “An important reminder amongst all the squabbling over yesterday’s result is that the football isn’t everything. Thoughts are with his family, RIP blue.”

Someone else posted: “Rip blue. Thoughts are with your family and friends at this sad time.”

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Featured Image – The Manc Group

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