Manchester United midfielder Kobbie Mainoo was one of the stand-out performers on Sunday as the Red Devils registered a goalless Premier League draw at Liverpool.
The Red Devils went into the game as potential underdogs and many anticipated them to suffer a fifth-straight defeat at Anfield, considering the form of both teams.
However, United had other plans in mind and delivered a sublime defensive showing. Raphael Varane was the man of the match but Mainoo was also brilliant in midfield.
The 18-year-old lined up alongside Sofyan Amrabat in the centre of the park and was impressive with his decision-making, winning four duels alongside two tackles.
Mainoo also blocked three shots from Jurgen Klopp’s side and had a passing accuracy of 89 per cent. The United wonderkid lost possession on just three occasions.
Speaking after the game, manager Erik ten Hag said that Mainoo was brilliant with his ‘scanning’ from midfield and he is a player, who can ‘really hurt‘ opponents.
In our view, the youngster has now proved his credentials as a senior player with the Anfield test and Ten Hag has another star, who is undroppable from his line-up.
We said the same for Scott McTominay earlier this month. The Scot had a relatively slow game at Anfield as he was adapting to the number 10 position in Bruno Fernandes’ absence.
However, he stepped up his performance in the second half and won an impressive 12 duels.
Elsewhere, Amrabat had an evening to forget. He won one out of eight duels contested and lost possession on a staggering 16 occasions with a pass accuracy of 64 per cent.
With Fernandes expected to return against West Ham United next weekend, we anticipate Mainoo to be partnered by McTominay in central midfield with Amrabat getting dropped.
Stats from Sofascore.com
