Manchester United have conceded a whopping 24 goals whilst Manuel Ugarte has been on the pitch this season.
This afternoon, when Man of the Match Casemiro was withdrawn to a standing ovation in the 75th minute and replaced by Ugarte, United were leading Fulham by two goals to nil.
Ugarte came on for a chaotic end to United vs Fulham
The Cottagers then completed a late comeback to pull themselves level by injury time, thanks to a spot-kick from Raul Jimenez and a truly remarkable strike from Kevin.
Thankfully for the Reds, Benjamin Sesko came in clutch to restore United’s lead in 90+4 minutes, securing all three points and a third win on the bounce.
It’s certainly not a good look for Ugarte to have attached to his name, however, and it’s something that INEOS will undoubtedly be taking note of.
#mufc have conceded 24 goals when Ugarte has been on the pitch this season. Reiterates need for at least two central midfielders in the summer. United already lack specialists in that area and will need sufficient quality and quantity when they’d hope to be back in Europe.
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) February 1, 2026
The Uruguayan is navigating a heavily reduced role once again this season, having been a substitute for all of Michael Carrick’s reign thus far.
Today was his lengthiest cameo under the manager with the 15 minutes he was awarded, as he was an unused option for the win over Arsenal and featured for just nine minutes in the Manchester derby triumph.
United considered premature Ugarte sale in January
In the lead-up to the January window, reports were suggesting that United would be willing to part ways with Ugarte just 17 months into his Old Trafford tenure.
Although Ugarte did receive approaches from Ajax and Galatasaray last month, the club ultimately opted against facilitating a sale, as they’re keen to grant Carrick the best chance of qualifying for the Champions League by having sufficient depth at his disposal.
Today’s result saw the Reds move back to fourth place following Chelsea’s and Liverpool’s wins over the weekend.
Ugarte was not the only one on the pitch. The statistic does not make good reading, but he is not alone, there were / are ten others on the pitch.
Today, he was not responsible for the penalty and the second goal was very special.
The second goal was pure positioning failure from Ugarte… And bad positioning from Lamens… The whole thing is starting from the hight of pressure… You are one goal lead and Bruno press the keeper .. to clear situation they were two more Fulham players.. you suppose not to press. Just Bruno loosing his had, then Mainoo goin out of position – been outplayed easy for opthing to go for a man not the room. Then Ugarte going deep — what was he doing in the penalty aria? He supposed to be just before the line in case to block… For Defending midfielder – very bad positioning…