He played like a midfielder who has to fill in at LB.
Sofyan Amrabat | 2023/24 Performances
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He's not a left-b... I'm done with this team. 
He was terrible for the first 30, body was just not in tune with what he was trying to do, once he got into more central potions he ended up having a pretty solid game and you can never fault his work ethic.
Horrible in the first half, better after the break. But yeah without fullbacks the options are what they are.
Can probably put that down to him not starting a game for a while to be fair, was very rusty.
Perhaps a controversial take, but I still think he could be a decent squad option for us if the price is right (as a midfielder, of course.)
Horrible first half-genuinely atrocious- but much much improved second half, where he started to drift into the centre and carry the ball forward. I'd like to see him get a bit more time in the midfield.
Better near the end when he moved into the middle. Absolutely awful first half though, and not sure he’d get the time and space he needs if he started in midfielder
Ran the 2nd half for us
Carried the ball well for us in the second half.
He's quite an assured player at times but it hasn't really got going for him here. Speed and fitness remain a concern to ever build momentum.
He's quite an assured player at times but it hasn't really got going for him here. Speed and fitness remain a concern to ever build momentum.
Thought he done ok...
I really don’t know what to make of him. Some moments of purpose and quality going forward but some crazy brainfarts going towards his own goal. Like 2 different players with complete opposite technical abilities.
Very slow start but played himself into the game. There’s not much reason for Eriksen to come on instead of him in the midfield.
His positioning as a left back is terrible though, he got caught so many times with passes behind. Thank feck Lindelof and Varane bailed him out from cutbacks.
I have a feeling that if we'd have given him a long run of games in DM in the first half of the season I think he'd have done quite well.
Don't think he'll get that chance now, and as a result he should move on.
Some of his passing in that spell was woeful though, mistimed, poorly directed, poor weight, quite a few hospital passes. Fair play to him for settling down.
His longer range passing was very good today, spread it out to the wings very effectively. Doesn't really need to be said, but obviously not a left back.
He's not World Class but he's not been given a fair chance either.
He was good in the 2nd half and doesn't shit himself on the ball.
10 million loan feck sake.
Yup. He was much better in the second half on the ball, so I'm OK to put that down to rustiness. But his positioning as a full back is suicidal. He freezes up when the ball goes behind him and needs bailing out, it happened 2-3 times today and given City are cut-back kings I can imagine us shipping 3-4 from Foden's assists alone.
I guess we dont have a left back in our youth setup then.
You can’t fault his willingness to get on the ball, that’s for sure.
Agreed.
I thought he was our best midfielder by far in the second half and was driving the team forward and breaking lines really well. We have too many vertical passers in midfield like Casemiro and Bruno who have their uses, but Amrabat has the ability to provide both vertical and horizontal passing options which result in more control in possession. I hope he's given more minutes centrally, because along with Mainoo, he provides qualities in possession that can equate to having more control in possession as his 97% pass accuracy showed tonight. And his ball security in possession is something that isn't utilised nearly enough due to the direct vertical players we have in other important areas which dictate the tactical plan, especially after the injuries we've suffered.
Surprise surprise he was much better in the middle of the park, made good runs and passed the ball well
Job done.
It was, but sadly the way we're setup it's suited towards players who are comfortable playing vertically in a direct fashion. Which doesn't suit our GK and neither does it really suit Amrabat and even Mainoo.
https://www.sofascore.com/player/sofyan-amrabat/359272#tab:matches
Not a left back but much preferred him there than Lindelof. If the choice is between the two, I'd rather have Amrabat there to be honest.
Strange to moan about him tonight really
He was good today
Yeah, it did make me think, I've not actually seen us spread the play like that often. It's line breaking central passes up to Bruno or Hojlund mainly.
Watching him in midfield I was wondering if he might not be a better option than Casemiro, less stupid tackle attempts, more thoughtful on the ball, about as slow.
All he has to do is see if that shiny bald bonce can knock the ball on target.
All he has to do is see if that shiny bald bonce can knock the ball on target.
Was much better when he started drifting into midfield to form a 3-2 to build up from, controlled the game from then on. Having him wide left too many gaps when we lost possession early in the game.
Was very good, great energy and keeps it ticking over nicely.
I thought he was shocking in the first half, but improved in the second, or forest was really bad.
Agreed. Amrabat did spread the play from a deeper midfield position, which is something we really haven't seen enough of this season due to injuries imo. So we've resorted to focusing on playing a direct vertical game, which does suit the likes of Casemiro and Bruno. But I don't think that was the original plan and injuries to Martinez, Shaw, Mainoo and Mount, has meant the problems at the back (playing out) have dictated how ten Hag has set the team up this season. So we still haven't seen the best of Onana in possession and even the likes of Amrabat have suffered due to how direct our game is in possession, which will result in us losing the ball often and hence defending transitions is a real concern.
So you have Onana who initiates the build up from the back with players like Martinez, Shaw, Amrabat and Mainoo being comfortable at receiving the ball under pressure and connecting and combining with team mates. Mason Mount drops from a advanced midfield position to occupy a central berth as the second receiver in midfield which is something I believe he's comfortably better than Bruno at due to his ability to receive passes on the turn. But unfortunately we've not really seen those players together often enough, and hence it's not a surprise to me, to see we have resorted to going direct a lot of the times which is frustrating to watch, but I'm not sure trying to build play through the thirds is a good idea with the players we currently have at the back and in midfield due to the reasons stated above.
I still think he’s a very decent player. He did have a poor 30 mins at the start but he was our best player in the second half moving centrally. As others have said, he’s not a LB but he’s currently our best option there. His driving runs and passes in the second half were instrumental in us getting a semblance of control on the game. I think most of all he’s brave enough to receive the ball under pressure which is something I’d like to see every player capable of for us. I’d sign him if the fee was right.
I don’t know if it was because of instructions from the coach, but he was always elsewhere when we needed him in defence. We basically defended without a LB.
Utterly atrocious first half and might be the slowest player in top flight European football.
Marginal improvement for the next 45 but fuxking miles away from “decent”
Marginal improvement for the next 45 but fuxking miles away from “decent”
He was awful for 20-30 minutes then he played really well when he switched to the inverted full back/midfield when Dalot was swapped over to play as a more conventional left back, did well.
I really think Rashford should be dropped against City and we play a 4312 with this team ; Onana, Kambwala(RB), Varanne, Lindelof, Dalot(LB), K Mainoo(RCM), Casemiro(CM), S Amrabat(LCM), S Mctominay(False 9), Bruno, Garnaucho
Pack out midfield, close city space and look for Mctominay physicality and Garnaucho pace on counter.
I really think Rashford should be dropped against City and we play a 4312 with this team ; Onana, Kambwala(RB), Varanne, Lindelof, Dalot(LB), K Mainoo(RCM), Casemiro(CM), S Amrabat(LCM), S Mctominay(False 9), Bruno, Garnaucho
Pack out midfield, close city space and look for Mctominay physicality and Garnaucho pace on counter.
He was awful in the first half. Bad passes and beaten too easily. In the 2nd half he had a good 25-30 minutes where he gave us a lot of energy and tempo moving forward where he played a lot differently to the majority of his time at United. He drove forward and found forward passes with a purpose. We didnt have too many positive performances but in the 2nd half he was among the better players
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