Manchester United drew goalless with Crystal Palace at the Selhurst Park last Saturday. The draw left United with seven points from five matches, which means that it has already dropped eight points.
United dominated the first half of the match and also hit the post twice. However, Palace came back into the match and had a few genuine chances of its own. Still, it was his team’s inability to find the net in another match That might have kept Erik ten Hag concerned.
Dalot Contributed in Hybrid Role
Manchester United played with a 3-2-2-3 formation for the majority of the match, that also became 3-3-1-3 at times. Dalot started as the left back, but kept moving into the midfield continuously to increase numbers in the middle.
At times, Christian Eriksen kept moving to the left to accommodate Dalot at the centre, which made United’s formation 3-3-1-3. Dalot also played a few probing forward passes from the middle of the pitch, thereby justifying ten Hag’s decision to push him there.
It also gave Manchester United better control at the centre, as they enjoyed around 70% ball-possession for a certain period of time in the first half. It was the kind of dominant display the Red Devils supporters have been yearning for for so long.
The Game Changed in the Second Half
Crystal Palace was a lot more aggressive in the second half and Eberechi Eze missed a couple of golden opportunities to put his side ahead. André Onana came up with a double save to deny him. The home side played a lot of forward balls to the right side to put pressure on Dalot, who had to fall back to play as the conventional left-back repeatedly.
Against teams like Liverpool, Manchester City and Arsenal, which have right-sided players like Mohamed Salah, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka, respectively, Manchester United might find it really difficult to follow the tactic of playing a hybrid left-back.
Those teams might lick their lips at the prospect of putting pressure on Dalot. Hence, it will be interesting to see which approach ten Hag follows against those big teams.
However, against smaller teams, this tactic might pay dividends, as was shown in the match against Crystal Palace. Still, Manchester United’s forwards were not incisive enough with the exception of Alejandro Garnacho in the first half.
Manchester United Has Key Matches Coming Up
Next couple of weeks are very important for the Red Devils, with matches against Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa coming up in the Premier League. Besides, they will also play against FC Porto in UEFA Europa League.
Each of those four matches should pose a stiff challenge to ten Hag’s men. A reversal in any of those matches could potentially be critical for his team’s fortunes. United is in the 11th position in the league table at the moment and it will not improve until it starts winning matches. For that to happen, the forwards of the team have to apply themselves better. It remains to be seen whether United can make a marked improvement.