Manchester United suffered their second defeat of the Premier League season following a lacklustre performance against Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Red Devils beat the Cityzens in the same fixture earlier this year, and they were handed an early advantage yesterday after Phil Foden was sent off for violent conduct.
United hit the woodwork twice against the Cityzens, but the visitors eventually took the lead through Erling Haaland after a controversial VAR decision went in their favour.
Enzo Fernandez looked to be interfering with play from an offside position in the lead-up, but VAR still decided to overturn the decision and hand Man City a 1-0 lead at the hour mark.
United, meanwhile, struggled to find the equaliser. Their best chance came in the closing seconds. Bryan Mbeumo was put through on goal, but Gianluigi Donnarumma made a sublime save.
Several players failed to turn, and we were largely disappointed by Patrick Dorgu.
Dorgu started as a left-back for United in the league for the first time yesterday. He had either played as a left wing-back or winger for the Red Devils since he arrived from Lecce in 2025.
We had concerns about how Dorgu could adapt defensively, given his forward-minded approach. The Dane initially had a tricky period handling Foden before his sending-off for a kick on Bruno Fernandes.
Things went pear-shaped for him in the second half. He gifted possession to Man City prior to the goal and eventually played Haaland onside, having failed to intercept Josko Gvardiol’s cross.
To make things worse, Dorgu’s touch after the cross put Haaland onside for his goal, though it should not have been awarded, as Fernandez clearly influenced play from an offside position.
The £25 million signing was good with his distribution at 90 percent, given Man City were down to 10 men. However, he won just three out of six tackles contested (50% tackles lost).
The Dane was dribbled past twice and committed three fouls. He lost 42 percent of his duels (5/12).
Carrick played Dorgu as a winger throughout pre-season. His weakness as a left-back was not capitalised on by Sabah, but Man City took ample advantage in yesterday’s league derby.
Dorgu is better suited at playing as a wide attacker without defensive duties.
In our view, he must be dropped to the bench when the Red Devils take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Carabao Cup third round at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
If Luke Shaw is not deemed fit to play again, Carrick has the solution to field Noussair Mazraoui as the makeshift left-back, which he should have against Man City too.
The Moroccan starred in the role at the World Cup, with one of his best performances coming against a star-studded Brazil outfit. He showed he can play there comfortably.
Stats from Sofascore.com