Manuel Ugarte

Ugarte reads the game purely through the lens of preventing danger, positioning himself between the ball and United's back four rather than chasing possession around the pitch. His tackling is timed rather than rushed, and he wins the ball cleanly far more often than he concedes needless free kicks near his own box. He rarely strays from his position to join an attack, trusting that his discipline gives the players ahead of him freedom to take risks.

The tension with Ugarte is that a midfielder this disciplined can start to feel invisible during matches United dominate, because his value only becomes obvious once possession is actually lost. Supporters who want a defensive midfielder to also drive attacks forward sometimes find his caution frustrating. Watch how United's midfield copes in matches where he does not play, because that absence usually reveals how much protection he provides when he does.