MANUEL UGARTE has been branded a “CURSE” after Manchester United’s loss to Aston Villa.
The Red Devils went down 2-1 at Villa Park, causing them to fall further off the pace in the Premier League.
Despite playing well for large parts and having several chances to score, Ruben Amorim‘s side were undone by two pieces of brilliance from the in-form Morgan Rogers either side of a Matheus Cunha strike.
The result lead to one man becoming the latest scapegoat, and he has been dubbed a “curse” for Manchester United.
One X user wrote: “The Ugarte curse carries on.”
Another simply said: “The Ugarte Curse strikes again.”
A third put: “The Ugarte curse continues.. make that 7 games now in which he has started and the team has lost.”
And the stats back up fans’ fears, with United’s recent record with Ugarte starting a miserable: Played 9, Won 0, Drawn 1, Lost 8.
That marks the second-longest run of starts without a victory by a United player in the competition, after Kleberson between January 2004 and May 2005.
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During that period, United’s record with the Brazilian was still much better than the current one with Ugarte as they drew seven and lost three.
Ugarte’s presence in the starting line-up at Villa Park came as a result of Casemiro‘s suspension and Kobbie Mainoo‘s injury.
Mainoo came on against Bournemouth on Monday night with the team 3-2 down and made a real difference.
One user pointed this out, saying: “Mainoo comes on and we do a comeback, he’s like the opposite of that Ugarte curse.”
But Mainoo’s late injury left boss Ruben Amorim with little choice but to pick Ugarte.
United paid £42million to sign Ugarte from PSG in the summer of 2024, shortly after letting Scott McTominay go to Napoli for £25m.
The Uruguayan hasn’t had the impact many thought he might.
Despite being a tried and trusted player for Amorim at Sporting Lisbon, he’s fallen out of favour under the Portuguese boss at Old Trafford.
And the statistics speak for themselves as to why.
With Bruno Fernandes set to miss a number of weeks through injury, Amorim needs people to step up in midfield.
He is unlikely to call on Ugarte given their dismal record with him in the team, and could look for reinforcements in January.
