Manchester United impressively shook off a plethora of injury concerns to overpower Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon, with Erik ten Hag’s men notably looking rather solid despite deploying something of a makeshift backline.
With the likes of Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez – who is out for the season – all absent for the clash with the relegation strugglers, the former Ajax boss saw his squad resources well and truly tested, as Diogo Dalot was notably forced to slot in at left-back.
There is no denying that the latter man has endured a tough time of it since returning from World Cup duty, with the 24-year-old having “regressed in quality” in recent months, according to writer Casey Evans, after looking “a bit off it” since turning out for his country in Qatar – as per The Mirror’s Colin Millar.
Having previously started the opening 15 Premier League games of the season in his usual right-back berth, the resurgence of teammate Aaron Wan-Bissaka – as well as his own injury woes – has seen the former Porto man flit in and out of the side, having memorably been hooked at half-time in the Carabao Cup final triumph over Newcastle United after being given a “torrid” time – as per beIN reporter Andy Kerr.
That recent, underwhelming run had ensured that it was a big call for Ten Hag to trust the £25k-per-week machine in something of an unnatural position against Steve Cooper’s side, although Dalot appeared to pass that big test with flying colours.
How did Dalot perform against Forest?
Having been tasked as the man to fill in for the stricken duo of Shaw and Malacia, the 6-foot sensation was simply “superb” in Sunday’s commanding victory, in the words of former Manchester Evening News writer Hesham Bilal-Hafiz, having hardly looked like a mere makeshift option.
The full-back’s quality was particularly evident as he registered two key passes from his 74 touches on the day, while also proving an effective performer in a defensive sense after winning four of his six total duels.
While there was one notable mishap as an errant touch from the 11-cap defender gifted an opening to opposition striker Taiwo Awoniyi, it was an otherwise serene outing for Dalot, as he recorded a standout 7.9 match rating, as per Sofascore.
The one-time AC Milan loanee’s most telling contribution in that fine outing came late on as he latched onto Antony’s threaded pass before cooly slotting the ball past the impressive Keylor Navas, with that a fine reward for having been ‘incisive and ambitious in attack’, as per GOAL’s Richard Martin.
As was perhaps evident by the array of celebrations that Dalot was keen to produce in the aftermath of that composed finish, it was only the Portuguese’s first Premier League goal for the club – just under five years on from arriving at Old Trafford.
That rare effort capped what was a respectable performance from the £27m-rated man in what could have been a potentially awkward starting berth, as he proved to everybody, most notably Ten Hag, that he’s someone they can certainly rely on moving forward.
