Manchester United couldn’t get their bogey team off their back once again as they fell to Brighton away from home courtesy of Joao Pedro’s late winner.
In what was a fairly even contest where a draw would have been a fair result, the pendulum swung both ways, with the talking point of the game being Alejandro Garnacho’s ‘goal’ that never was.
Ultimately, Brighton continued their unbeaten streak, leaving many questions for Erik ten Hag to answer in defence as well as attack.
One question he won’t have to answer anytime soon is about one player in the team who has become synonymous with dependability.
Diogo Dalot shines in unfamiliar position
After Noussair Mazraoui‘s arrival, it was the second consecutive game where Diogo Dalot started as a left-back instead of his preferred right-back position.
In fact, he has come up against arguably two of the trickiest wingers in the Premier League in those two games- Adama Traore and Yankuba Minteh.
Both times, he has come through with shining results, and against Brighton, when the team lost, he didn’t let his form collapse.
He was everywhere on the left flank offensively and defensively. He created a chance for Amad with a brilliant inswinging cross, and his contributions in his own box, including a goal-line clearance, painted a picture of a player who’s at the top of his game right now.
Dalot finished the game completing 55/61 passes, good for 90% accuracy while his 83 touches were the most of any United player on the day. [Stats courtesy of FotMob]
The Portuguese was a demon defensively, finishing the game with a remarkable 12 recoveries in addition to two clearances, two interceptions, and two of two tackles won.
In doing so, he made fans forget all about Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, not that either of those players is doing much to make fans remember them as it stands.
A good problem emerging
Talking about Shaw, in particular, Ten Hag has a good problem emerging with Dalot looking so serene and comfortable on the left wing.
Mazraoui shows no signs of giving up his place as long as he is fit and Dalot has slotted in on the left as well as he was doing on the right.
Shaw, at his best, is a huge asset to this United team but his availability probably makes him the backup to Dalot at this point.
It spells even more trouble for Malacia. Unless the Dutchman returns to playing like he never left, difficult when he last played nearly a year and a half ago, his future could be away from Old Trafford next summer.
That’s because Harry Amass could well emerge as a bonafide first-team squad option after another year training with the senior and playing consistent U21 football.
Ultimately, it seems like a good problem is emerging at a position that made Ten Hag sweat the whole of last season due to a paucity of options.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/xgRvSGD