Manuel Ugarte continues his ‘curse’ at Man United with another loss

After a dramatic 4-4 draw with Bournemouth, United travelled to Villa Park to face Aston Villa. Despite a decent performance from Ruben Amorim’s side, they were undone by two fine goals from Rogers. Matheus Cunha pulled one back for United, but it was not enough to change the outcome.  

Following the final whistle, many United fans took to X to highlight Ugarte’s record when starting matches. Some wrote: “The Ugarte curse carries on” and “The Ugarte curse continues… make that seven games now in which he has started and the team has lost.”

The so-called “curse” stems from Ugarte’s statistics as a starter for United: nine matches played, zero wins, one draw and eight defeats. While the label is largely a joke among fans, concerns about his performances are genuine. Ugarte started against Aston Villa due to Casemiro’s suspension and Kobbie Mainoo picking up a late injury before the match.

At the moment, Amorim’s preferred midfield options appear to be Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro and Mainoo, with Ugarte behind them in the pecking order. Despite previously playing under Amorim at Sporting Lisbon, Ugarte has struggled to reproduce his best form in England. United paid around £42 million to sign him from PSG, shortly after allowing Scott McTominay to leave the club, but his future at Old Trafford is now uncertain.

With the World Cup just six months away, Ugarte is keen for regular game time to secure his place with Uruguay. Reports suggest the midfielder could push for a loan move in the summer. United, meanwhile, are also expected to look for midfield reinforcements, with Casemiro and Bruno both getting older.

United’s problems are compounded by Bruno Fernandes potentially missing three to four matches with injury, likely sidelining him until after the New Year. Although Casemiro will return, Amorim may still experiment with different combinations, including using Lisandro Martínez in midfield, as he did against Villa.

United’s upcoming fixtures include Newcastle (27 December), Wolves (31 December), Leeds (4 January) and Burnley (8 January).