The Peoples Person
·19 November 2024
In partnership with
Yahoo sportsThe Peoples Person
·19 November 2024
Manchester United fullback Noussair Mazraoui shone as Morocco wrapped up their AFCON qualificiation in style by crushing Lesotho 7-0.
The Moroccans were dominant throughout, scoring five goals in the first half.
They also had 21 shots and 68% possession of the ball in a one-sided contest.
Mazraoui has made a strong start to life at Old Trafford ever since signing in the summer from Bayern Munich and has continued his fine showings on the international stage, as he also impressed in his nation’s 5-1 victory over Gabon last week.
Sofascore gave him a score of 7.2 yesterday as he played the entire 90 minutes of action.
His closest moment to scoring was in the 33rd minute when he fired in a ball from the right hand side of the pitch that raced just wide of the bottom corner of the net.
Mazraoui had a quiet night defensively as the Basotho offered little threat to the Moroccan goal.
He made one tackle and won his solitary aerial duel. He will be disappointed by his effort in ground battles however, as he only won two out of his eight attempts.
The 27 year old was much more involved in an attacking sense though, as he had 93 touches of the ball and a passing accuracy of 93%, connecting with 62 out of his 69 passes.
His passing was also purposeful as he provided two key passes in the match.
He completed two out of his three crosses and two out of his four long ball attempts in a productive display in his favoured right back position.
Mazraoui’s case will be an interesting one as new United manager Ruben Amorim traditionally plays with wing backs in a more advanced midfield position, so it will be fascinating to see how the new signing adapts to this stylistic change moving forward.
He will next be in action for his country when they travel to Niger in March for World Cup qualifying.