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.
I don’t want to bring down players who have played for us for years but here’s Amrabat’s heat map last night, let’s be honest it’s been a while since we’ve seen something like this. pic.twitter.com/fCKGtiW6A9
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.
Sofyan Amrabat says he will even play as a goalkeeper if Manchester United need him there 🔴pic.twitter.com/MvqhI3oqCy
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:
Featured Image — Sofyan Amrabat (via Instagram)/Sky Sports (via Twitter)
Sport
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
27th September 2023 
