Manchester United's grim season reached a new low on Tuesday evening, with the Red Devils slipping to a shock defeat at home to Turkish outfit Galatasaray in the Champions League – the club's sixth defeat of the campaign already in all competitions.
While there is little suggestion that manager Erik ten Hag could be set for the axe before too long, this dismal period does evoke memories of the final days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with the cult hero having been dismissed in November 2021 after a difficult run both domestically and in Europe.
There was also a likeness to the Solskjaer era in the manner in which one United figure performed last night, with Diogo Dalot having looked more like the player who was on the periphery under the Norwegian, than the talent that has blossomed under Ten Hag.
How many times did Diogo Dalot play under Solskjaer?
The Portugal international has emerged as a regular fixture in the side under both Ralf Rangnick and Ten Hag over the past two years or so, although prior to that the former Porto man had been something of a spare part under Solskjaer – making just 36 appearances in total during his former manager's time at the helm.
With Aaron Wan-Bissaka the first-choice option at right-back following his £50m arrival from Crystal Palace in 2019, Dalot was unable to force his way into the first-team reckoning, prior to joining AC Milan on loan for the 2020/21 campaign.
Having returned to Old Trafford for the following campaign, the emerging talent showcased just why he had been overlooked for much of Solskjaer's tenure after producing a particularly poor display in the Champions League at home to Villarreal.
As ex-United man Michael Owen stated during that eventual 2-1 win for the Premier League giants, Dalot had endured a "bit of a nightmare" up against the lively Arnaut Danjuma, notably being dribbled past on two occasions as a marker of his woes.
While the subsequent years have been far more impressive for the 24-year-old – as he was recently awarded a new long-term deal by Ten Hag – there were shades of that Villarreal performance against the Istanbul outfit last night.
How did Diogo Dalot perform against Galatasaray?
Almost exactly two years on from being ripped apart by Danjuma, the £85k-per-week asset was again given a rough ride by another familiar face in the form of Wilfried Zaha, having been unable to prevent the former Red Devils man from netting on his return to the Theatre of Dreams.
In truth, Dalot was simply outfought and "outmuscled" by the Ivory Coast international – as per The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell – after failing to deal with a relatively routine floated ball over the top, epitomising a night in which he won just 30% of his total duels.
Having been 'bullied by Zaha' during the winger's time at Crystal Palace – in the words of Manchester Evening News journalist, Samuel Luckhurst – the attack-minded full-back was again unable to get the better of his opposite man, having also committed four fouls as a marker of his errant performance.
Not just a liability off the ball, however, the Braga-born dud also gave away possession on 15 occasions and failed to complete any of his three attempted dribbles, proving unable to replicate the impact he had made in the Carabao Cup last week, after teeing up Alejandro Garnacho with a clever pullback.
The man with the second-lowest Sofacore match rating of any starting player for either side (6.1) – ahead of only the hapless Andre Onana (5.9) in the sticks – Dalot truly did endure a night to forget, having been culpable in what was a dire result for his side.
As is the way at United at present, however, there is little choice for Ten Hag but to persist with the struggling asset, amid the ongoing injury crisis in the backline – a far-from-ideal scenario.
