admin Sofyan Amrabat played as an extra left-back for Man United in their win over Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup.
Inverted full-backs seem to be all the rage in the Premier League these days and Manchester United may have their own answer to this revolutionary tactical approach.
Pep Guardiola and Manchester City are pioneers in this particular area, with John Stones, Kyle Walker and promising academy graduate Rico Lewis performing well in the hybrid position last season. Before them, Joao Cancelo built a reputation as one of the best before falling from grace.
Of course, the treble winners were not the only European club to try to create overloads by sacrificing a defender in possession.However, given how well City control the ball in every match, the door is often wide open for Stones.
With Stones sidelined through injury this season, Guardiola had a momentary rethink, but their top rivals Arsenal and Liverpool have also tested a similar approach with the star Englishmen Trent Alexander-Arnold and Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Alexander-Arnold and Zinchenko are both famous for being better at attacking than defending – and that’s where Stones broke the mold – but United have now stumbled into their own choice to buck the trend.
It was no surprise to see on-loan midfielder Sofyan Amrabat make his full debut in the Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace on Tuesday night. However, there were a raised eyebrow or two when the Moroccan played at left-back alongside the ill Sergio Reguilon.But there’s no reason to worry. Quite the contrary, Amrabat put in an excellent performance in a role that was not exactly unfamiliar but was unfamiliar territory for United.
“I told the coach: I will play where you need me, where the team needs me, even as a goalkeeper,” Amrabat joked to Sky Sports in a post-match interview . But his performance wasn’t funny.
“I will play wherever I can help the team,” the 27-year-old player added: “I play back but I can play freely and play a lot in midfield.It’s so good. I always like to have the ball. Of course I’m not a left-back but I try to give the team more options. It’s very good.”
A humble Amrabat is more than good.Brought in to solve problems in central midfield, he could also help United be evenly deployed at supporting left-back against a number of opponents this season.
