Manchester United put in their worst performance of the season as they lost 3-0 to Tottenham.
There was a growing hope around Old Trafford that Manchester United would finally form an identity and style of play this season now that a footballing structure behind the scenes has been put in place.
There were certainly signs that United’s defence was improving this season after adding the likes of Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt to the back four.
But after being cut through for Twente’s equaliser midweek, the same happened against Spurs after just three minutes when Micky van de Ven dribbled half of the pitch before setting up Brennan Johnson.
Diogo Dalot was slammed for his “criminal” defending in the lead-up to the goal after he failed to follow Johnson’s run into the box.
The Portuguese full-back, who was signed by United for £19m in 2018, has been one of United’s best and most consistent performers this season but it all fell apart against Spurs.
Erik ten Hag ignored Diogo Dalot warning signs
United have thankfully managed to avoid the injury problems that plagued last season, but the one position which has been a problem is at left-back.
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When Luke Shaw returns from injury, he will likely slot back into United’s back four, but with Tyrell Malacia also injured Erik ten Hag has had to be inventive.
Diogo Dalot has filled in at left-back, but he has been relied on too often this season. Ahead of United’s clash against Twente, Ten Hag was urged to rest Dalot as he had started every match of the 2024/25 season.
However, Ten Hag ignored the warning signs and started the 25-year-old against Twente and Spurs, meaning he has still started every game this season and played 783 minutes of football.
That is more than any other United player this season, and it showed on Sunday.
Dalot was caught jogging back to mark Johnson which led to Tottenham’s opener. He has one of the most demanding jobs on the pitch with Ten Hag asking him to drift into midfield while also overlapping on the left and tracking back.
Not resting Dalot against Twente was a huge mistake and it came back to haunt Ten Hag against Tottenham.
Erik ten Hag is at fault
Over the summer, Ineos ensured that Ten Hag had two quality options in every position heading into the new season.
It is clear that the Dutchman is trying to manage minutes to avoid an injury crisis like last season, but there has been a huge oversight at left-back.
Even with Shaw and Malacia injured, Ten Hag experimented with Toby Collyer at left-back against Barnsley and the academy star impressed.
But Dalot was shifted to right-back for that game so he was still not given a rest.