Manchester United under Ruben Amorim have made an art out of being a team considerably less than the sum of its parts.
It’s not a particularly hot take that a front three of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko – which cost £200m and accumulated a total of 58 goals in all competitions last season – is currently not operating as the lethal, or at least competent, attacking unit which it obviously should be.
It huffed and puffed against Brentford but only managed to blow one goal past Caoimhin Kelleher, while at the other end Altay Bayindir was beaten three times.
Dismal Dalot
The mishmash of players in front of him tasked with defending the goal was also made up of theoretically good footballers.
But when Diogo Dalot chose to step boldly into midfield as the ball sailed over his head, rather than give chase and try and prevent a cross, it felt like one of the key parts in Amorim’s sputtering machine was made of cheese.
The consequences of Dalot’s misstep were grimly predictable – the ball fizzed into the six-yard box, the United net bulged, eyes rolled, heads dropped.
It wouldn’t be fair to blame the Portuguese alone for the Brentford debacle, there were shortcomings across the park. And he could be forgiven for following Amorim’s notorious inflexible instructions to the letter, but the lack of basic critical thinking left his team open and his teammates all at sea.
Low footballing IQ
The real problem is that this isn’t the first time he has shown the footballing IQ of a chicken. A chronic lack of awareness has long characterised his game, be it baffling decision-making on the ball or brainless positioning off it.
These episodes are interspersed, certainly, with some enterprising runs and the occasional potent delivery, but just ask Rasmus Hojlund about the realities of playing with Dalot as a chief provider.
Some players have been a casualty of Amorim’s disintegrating 3-4-2-1 philosophy, but this one has carried on the studied mediocrity that has become his speciality. Amongst the smorgasbord of insipidity in the United dressing room, Dalot dishes up the largest dose.
Time is up
Now 26, the player was signed in 2018 by Jose Mourinho, who coveted the youngster and sang his praises.
From the United fringes to the heart of the squad – via a productive loan spell at AC Milan – the full-back has sidled his way into the senior group without ever entirely demonstrating why.
He is even a member of the current leadership group; Amorim sets a lot of store by attitude and Dalot has always put the effort in on the pitch, but often more like a golden retriever than a professional sportsman.
While battling for the right-back position with Aaron Wan-Bissaka for a few years the Portuguese could at least point to offering a more present attacking threat, but it’s hard to see how he does anything better than Noussair Mazraoui.
And at the time of writing Amorim is still in charge at Old Trafford meaning Dalot’s only place in the team is as a wing-back, a role in which he appears almost entirely lost; despite being raw in different ways, both Amad and Patrick Dorgu are better options there.
But whatever happens, United’s extended dalliance with Dalot must surely be brought to a slow and painful end after more than 200 appearances; if Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are still keen on him come the summer, INEOS must bite their hands off before they look beyond his highlight reel.
Featured image Gareth Copley via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
