Comparing the performances of the Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur midfielders.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur both needed new midfielders this season, but for now only Louis van Gaal’s side has strengthened in that area.
United signed Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger from Southampton and Bayern Munich respectively, while for now Tottenham have to make do with Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason while pushing Eric Dier further forward as they did on Saturday.
How Tottenham could have done with Schneiderlin this year, but the Frenchman arrived at Old Trafford and he is already showing why van Gaal was so keen to sign him.
Against Tottenham the French international was a cut above his Algerian counterpart, who was replaced shortly after half-time having failed to impose himself on the game.
| Passing Accuracy | Forward passes | Tackles won | Duels Won | Aerials Won | Interceptions Won | Ball Recoveries | Dispossessed | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Schneiderlin | 86% | 11 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 90 |
| Nabil Bentaleb | 78% | 9 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 53 |
As you can see from the statistics above, the United midfielder had a far superior passing accuracy while he also played more forward passes and won more tackles, duels and interceptions than the Tottenham youngster.
Bentaleb came out on top in terms of aerial battles and the players were even in both being dispossessed twice on the day, but it was the United player who recovered the ball more than the Spurs man.
Bentaleb will not play so badly very often this season and he is destined to become one of Tottenham’s most important players, but in Schneiderlin United may have found the midfielder that can push them on to the next level as they bid to reclaim the Premier League title after two barren campaigns.
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