Manchester United legend Paul Scholes admitted Manuel Ugarte had ‘surprised’ him with his ‘quality on the ball’ after the side’s 2-2 draw with Liverpool.
Ugarte produced arguably his finest performance yet in a United shirt as Ruben Amorim’s side came away from Sunday’s Premier League thriller on Merseyside with a valuable point.
The visitors carved out a golden opportunity to seal an unlikely victory deep into stoppage time, only for Harry Maguire to balloon his effort over the crossbar from ten yards out.
After a goalless first half, Lisandro Martinez sent United’s away support into raptures with an emphatic strike to open the scoring but Cody Gakpo hit back just seven minutes later to make it all square.
A Mohamed Salah penalty gave Liverpool the lead for the first time in the match in the 70th minute before the Red Devils levelled through Amad Diallo, who squeezed the ball past Alisson to notch his third goal of the season.
Ugarte, United’s £41million summer arrival from Paris Saint-Germain, will have been disappointed to miss the club’s previous clash with Newcastle due to suspension.
But Amorim recalled Ugarte to his starting XI at Anfield and the Uruguayan more than repaid his manager’s faith with an exceptional showing against Liverpool’s midfield three of Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Curtis Jones.
On the suggestion Ugarte is now a ‘must’ in Amorim’s first-choice XI, Scholes told Premier League Productions: ‘Yeah, he has to be and I think all them [Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Kobbie Mainoo] are capable of playing with him.
‘I think Mainoo would be the best one once he’s right, once he’s playing and his fitness is better.
‘Partnerships all over the pitch are important and you look at Manchester United, you don’t really see any partnerships, you don’t see links between players, you don’t see a link between a midfielder and a forward.
‘Ugarte and another one are more than capable of playing for that team. And not just Ugarte for his legs… I even think his quality on the ball, it surprised me a little bit because I did see a bit of him at PSG.’
On Ugarte’s start at Old Trafford, 11-time Premier League winner Scholes added: ‘He’s probably done better than I thought he would do.
‘He [Amorim] said before that Ugarte did well for him at Sporting Lisbon, as a really young player as well so he knows him.
‘This lad is really growing in confidence. I thought he took up some great positions, he helped defensively, he helped with the attack and I thought he had the composure to take the ball as well.
‘It looks to me like it has to be him with another.’
Scholes was massively impressed with the spirit and togetherness United’s players showed against top-of-the-table Liverpool and hopes they use the display as a ‘blueprint’ going forward.
The ex-United and England midfielder continued: ‘That was a proper performance today. To go to Anfield and go toe to toe with the best team…
‘They beat Manchester City who have been the best team for four or five years but that performance was nothing like this. This was better.
‘I know they didn’t win the game like they did at City but I take more out of that performance than actually winning against the champions.
‘I think, now, that’s the blueprint, that’s the way they go forward, that’s the standard.
‘By now, the manager should know his players. He has chopped and changed so much and this has to be [close to his strongest team].
‘Who else can come into it? Luke Shaw, possibly if he’s fit. Leny Yoro at centre-half, Alejandro Garnacho, possibly, but I don’t think he quite gets into it.
‘If that starting XI is fit then they have to play until players perform badly and they don’t get into the team.
‘That’s the standard that they’ve set and they have to reach in games to come. I can’t see any reason why they can’t do it.’