It was an evening to forget for Manchester United. Now, you’d think that may mean we wouldn’t write about it. What sort of organisation would that make us? That’s right, a lousy one. Despite the rumours, I can confirm we’re not a lousy outfit (the website, not Mourinho’s side). We are going to have a look at two players. A good, old-fashioned comparison, we are talking about two L’s – Lingard & Lucas Moura. Before we begin, can I just state that United fans are a bunch of weirdos. Getting selfies with Lucas Moura after he’s just embarrassed you on your own turf. Just strange that is.
So, how did they both play last night? Obviously, Moura scored a brace so he’s going to get the accolades from last night, however, how did everything else marry up? We shall begin with Lingard.
For those of you that are eagle-eyed, you’ll notice it has the kick-off time as 02:00 and that’s due to time zones before you get your conspiracy theories up and running. Once I show you Moura’s image shortly, you’ll see that there are a lot of similarities between Lingard and Moura, nonetheless, Moura scored two and Lingard didn’t. Certain things jump out for me with Lingard – he was dispossessed twice and fouled thrice. This tells us that Pochettino sent a clear message to his defenders: “get him”.
Positives
Five out of five long passes reached their intended destination. Dribbling wise, when Lingard actually got a bit of space he completed 100% of his dribbles. Yes, there was only one, but you have to take the small wins where you can get them. Do you know what I mean? That aside, there’s not a lot going on; 66% of his shots were blocked, the other 33% off target. All in all, Lingard was a shining light of sorts, in an otherwise disappointing evening.
I Like To Moura Moura
Let’s begin by addressing the elephant in the room. What on earth are those passing stats all about? 55% success rate is abysmal by anyone’s standards, let alone a Brazilian international, moving swiftly on… In similar circumstances to Lingard, Moura was also closed down relatively quickly, this is clearly evident by the fact he was dispossessed once and fouled twice. Where one of the differences lie is Moura’s dribbles, he completed double the number of dribbles. Yes, it was only one playing two, but hey, I’ve got a make an article somehow!
Goals Mean Prizes
Without a shadow of doubt, the most impressive of all the stats is his shot to goal ratio. Two shots, two shots on target, two goals. That, ladies and gentlemen, is exactly how it’s done. I’ll finish this off by saying despite Moura and Lingard having comparable heat maps, Moura made three times as many interceptions than his English opponent. Moura wins this one. And that’s a wrap.
One More Thing
All said and done, Lingard only really betters Moura on the passing front and that’s that. Moura and Lingard, while both being busy, are very valuable to their respective sides. The biggest sticking point for Lingard is that his teammates are failing to all sing off the same hymn sheet.
Until the next time.
