Manchester United have had a frustrating start to the 2026/27 season, and they have already suffered three defeats across all competitions.
The Red Devils bowed out of the Carabao Cup in the third round on Wednesday after Brighton & Hove Albion came back from two goals down to secure a 3-2 win.
It was the first time in 50 years that United had relinquished a 2-0 half-time advantage at Old Trafford to lose. The result was hugely embarrassing for the Red Devils.
There were several underperformers from the game. Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven were handed rare starts in central defence, and the young duo were simply poor.
Benjamin Sesko had a disappointing outing upfront too, but we were particularly unimpressed by right-back Diogo Dalot, whose performance was dreadful for a senior player.
The Portuguese has 251 appearances to his name for United, but his last two outings against Manchester City and Brighton suggest that the club should need to seek an upgrade next year.
Dalot had several lapses in concentration against Man City last weekend. Antoine Semenyo got the better of him on multiple occasions. He was also out of position in the lead-up to the controversial winner.
Against Brighton, it was a similar case. He looked completely rattled by Malick Yalcouye’s blistering pace and also made an unnecessary clearance, which largely contributed to Brighton’s equaliser.
Dalot was also poor with his positioning for the Seagulls’ winner soon after. The 27-year-old lost possession on 12 occasions and won only 50 percent of his duels contested on the night.
The £19 million signing has been a big disappointment early in the season.
If Luke Shaw is fit to start at left-back, we would go with Noussair Mazraoui on the right side of the backline when United take on Fulham in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Mazraoui has not been flourishing since his World Cup heroics for Morocco, but the former Bayern Munich man is more composed in duels and provides better defensive assurance.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com