Man Utd’s biggest problem solved? The new Diogo Dalot role Palace ‘couldn’t get to grips with’ | OneFootball

Manchester United‘s first-half showing against Crystal Palace was arguably their most coherent and exciting 45 minutes of football so far this season.

The Red Devils tore their hosts to shreds in a performance that yielded 66% possession, nine shots and 1.42 xG, with the only thing missing an all-important goal. That wasn’t for the want of trying, however, with both Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes hitting the woodwork.

Erik ten Hag has been criticised for tactical stubbornness during his time at Old Trafford so far but on Saturday, he came across a solution to his long-standing left-back problem in the form of Diogo Dalot.

It wasn’t the first time Dalot has played in that position, of course, with the Portugal international taking up his place on the left of United’s back four on 29 occasions during his time with the club to date. However, his role in possession this time was very different.

Rather than hugging the touchline to provide width, Dalot was asked to tuck inside in an inverted role similar to that seen from full-backs at the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool.

The 25-year-old was comfortable in possession playing as an extra midfielder, while his defensive solidity allowed Kobbie Mainoo to play more advanced and affect the game further forward.

Dalot himself created three chances, completed 91% of his passes and played seven passes into the final third during the course of the match, but it was arguably the way he unlocked those around him that made him so effective in his new role.

“Dalot is coming inside as a number six almost and controlling the game from there,” former Man Utd defender Phil Jones observed for Sky Sports at half-time. “United have been really good in possession, created a good amount of chances. With Dalot coming inside they’re creating overloads.

“At times you had Mainoo playing as a 10 and Diogo playing in Mainoo’s position. Those were the overloads they were creating.

“As we said, Palace really couldn’t get to grips with that in the first half.”

So impressive was Dalot against Palace that he was the highest-performing left-back from the weekend when it came to the Squawka Score, thus making our Team of the Week alongside the likes of Luis Diaz, Dominic Solanke and Nicolas Jackson.

Naturally, none of this will come as a surprise to Man Utd fans, with Dalot picking up club’s Players’ Player of the Year award for 2023/24.

However, the form of Noussair Mazraoui since joining from Bayern Munich means there’s no rush to get Dalot back over to his natural right-back position, leaving Ten Hag with the option of running the former Porto star there long term.

Left-back has been one of Ten Hag’s biggest issues to fix during his time at Man Utd, with Luke Shaw missing most of last season through injury and generally unable to stay consistently fit, while Tyrell Malacia has also been sidelined long-term.

Lisandro Martinez is another player who has deputised in the role, while young Toby Collyer played there against Barnsley in the EFL Cup.

So, whether by accident or a tactical awakening, Ten Hag may have ticked one point off his to-do list as he bids to turn fortunes around at Manchester United.