Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has come under a lot of criticism for his 'lazy' role in Tottenham Hotspur's opener at Old Trafford on Sunday - in a goal that saw the Lilywhites take the lead inside four minutes at the Theatre of Dreams.
A United counter-attack was thwarted by Tottenham centre-back Micky van de Ven, and the rapid Dutch defender was allowed the freedom to drive at the heart of the United defence, fending off pressure from Matthijs de Ligt to cross for Brennan Johnson, who was left unmarked at the back post to turn home under no pressure whatsoever. Dalot had left him unmarked, and that prompted poor feedback from Jamie Redknapp, who labelled the Portuguese man as 'lazy' for failing to track his man.
Redknapp: Man Utd Star Dalot 'Bad' in Tottenham Opener
The defender didn't track his man and gave Tottenham the foundation to win
Speaking on Sky Sports' Premier League coverage of the crunch clash at Old Trafford, the former Tottenham man berated Dalot by labelling him as 'so bad' in tracking Johnson - who had the freedom of Manchester to turn home and put the side from the capital ahead. Redknapp said:
"It's so bad from Dalot. You see him there, you would think as left-back just get back and match the run - he doesn't. He's jogging, that is so bad from his persepective. There have been collective mistakes from United all through that first half.
"Spurs have been excellent but from United's point of view, they've been so abject. There's no confidence or identity, they're sitting back. They're like the away team, it's been so poor from them."
That was compounded just before the end of the half with Bruno Fernandes receiving his first red card in his 242 games for the Red Devils - but even before his dismissal, Tottenham had been by far the better team and Ange Postecoglou would have been ruing his side not going 2-0 up.
However, that was counter-acted by Dejan Kulusevski's first goal of the season just two minutes into the second half that put real daylight between the away side and the beleaguered Red Devils.
Ten Hag Could Be Pushed to Man Utd Exit
The Dutchman has overseen poor results this season
Erik ten Hag was already beginning to feel pressure at Old Trafford having only won two of his opening five league games to begin the season, and a home Europa League draw in midweek against Dutch side FC Twente did little to quell that. The first-half performance from the Red Devils was way below the standard expected, and against a side who will also be gunning for European football, it's seen United slip further behind in the race for continental football.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Diogo Dalot has made 166 appearances for Manchester United, scoring 6 goals.
Ten Hag now has huge pressure on his back, and he won't be helped by a lack of commitment from his players. Adding to that, Fernandes' red card means that he is without his main creative spark for the next three domestic games and that will further hinder United, who seldom looked to be creating anything in his absence, albeit with ten men.
Tough clashes against Aston Villa, Brentford and West Ham United are to follow amid tough ties away at Porto and Fenerbahce in the Europa League - and without Fernandes in the Premier League games, it could spell the end of Ten Hag's time at Old Trafford.