There have been concerns for Man Utd’s midfield in the context of Christian Eriksen’s long-term injury and Casemiro’s three-match ban . In the recent encounter with Leeds United, coach Erik ten Hag used Fred to pair with rookie Marcel Sabitzer in the center of midfield.
Attention is directed to Sabitzer because the Austrian star is still experiencing the first matches in the Premier League and Leeds United is not an easy opponent to play.
Sabitzer had an excellent performance.
However, Sabitzer still knows how to do the assigned task well. Throughout 90 minutes of being on the field, the 28-year-old midfielder possesses a passing accuracy rate of about 87%. More importantly, all the passes into the last third of the field from Sabitzer went to the right address (9/9).
As for defensive efforts, the former Leipzig star also showed efficiency with 5/7 winning hand-to-hand disputes, launching 4 accurate tackles, 2 recovering the ball and making 1 save. save David de Gea’s goal.
It was Sabitzer who also launched the correct pass to Luke Shaw’s position, before the English star crossed the ball to help Rashford score.
Cristiano Ronaldo gets FIFA recognition despite sour Manchester United exit
Al-Nassr forward Ronaldo has made it onto an illustrious FIFA shortlist whilst some of the Premier League’s biggest stars also made the cut.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been recognized by FIFA for his performances in the 21/22 season with Manchester United (Image: Getty)
Cristiano Ronaldo has been named on FIFA’s 26-man shortlist for the FIFPro team of the year.
Ronaldo called time on his second spell at Manchester United last year and has since signed for Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Nassr.
His performances for the Reds during the 2021/22 season have seemingly caught the eye of panelists, with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and Joao Cancelo also making the cut. England midfielder Jude Bellingham – who has been linked with both United and City – is also included.
Ronaldo hit 24 goals in 39 games for United last season, whilst delivering some stand-out performances in the UEFA Champions League that saw the club reach the knockout stages of the competition.
Whilst his international endeavors didn’t go to plan with Portugal at the World Cup in Qatar, the former Real Madrid striker still showed his talents on the world stage before he opted to swap Manchester for the Middle East after a controversial interview with Piers Morgan saw United cut ties with the 38-year-old.
Lionel Messi remains a favourite to scoop multiple football awards for his efforts with Argentina later this year, whilst Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski also enjoyed stellar years and could push Ronaldo out of the FIFpro starting XI.
The full list of nominees for the FIFPro team of the year as follows:
Goalkeepers
Alisson Becker (Liverpool, Brazil)
Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, Argentina)
Defenders
Joao Cancelo (Manchester City/Bayern Munich, Portugal)
Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich, Canada)
Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands)
Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig, Croatia)
Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain, Morocco)
Theo Hernandez (AC Milan, France)
Antonio Rudiger (Chelsea/Real Madrid, Germany)
Thiago Silva (Chelsea, Brazil)
Midfielders
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund, England)
Casemiro (Real Madrid/Manchester United, Brazil)
Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Enzo Fernandez (River Plate/Benfica/Chelsea, Argentina)
Gavi (Barcelona, Spain)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Spain)
Pedri (Barcelona, Spain)
Federico Valverde (Real Madrid, Uruguay)
Forwards
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City, Norway)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich/Barcelona, Poland)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina)
Source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
