Manchester United face an uphill battle to overturn a 2-0 deficit against PSG to qualify for the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions League. If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is right and Anthony Martial is not passed fit there will only few fit first team squad players boarding the team plane to Paris on Tuesday. Eight out injured, Phil Jones is ill and Paul Pogba is suspended. It doesn’t make for good reading when United are looking to overturn a 2-0 deficit without their key players.
The situation is such that United’s bench is likely to have to feature four teenage Academy prospects in the from of Tahith Chong, Mason Greenwood, Angel Gomes and James Garner. The good news for Solskjaer is amidst this crisis the players he has called upon so far have stepped up to the plate. Scott McTominay was excellent against both Liverpool and Crystal Palace and Romelu Lukaku is unstoppable in current form and both players are sure to start on Wednesday night.
While Solskjaer could have done without another injury to add to his list the absence of Alexis Sanchez might not necessarily be such a bad one with the alternative he can now use. With Martial unlikely to be risked and Sanchez ruled out that leaves Solskjaer with just Rashford and Lukaku up front, however, Diogo Dalot has shown in his last two performances why he is the perfect supplement to United’s attack.
Dalot signed for Premier League club Manchester United on 6 June 2018 on a five-year contract for a fee of £19 million. He made his debut on 19 September 2018 in an away UEFA Champions League group stage match against Swiss side Young Boys.The 19-year-old linked up well with Ashley Young down the right wing in the win at Selhurst Park on Wednesday and occupied a similar role when he came on in the win against Southampton. In fact, the Portuguese made more of an impact with his first involvement on Saturday than Sanchez had in his 52 minutes on the pitch. A great cross in to the box for Marcus Rashford was his first contribution and the England international really should have scored.
The Portuguese changed the game with two key passes, an assist and a big chance created, and that was with just 40 minutes played. While United’s other forwards like to cut inside and cause problems inside the box Dalot prefers to hug the line and operate as a traditional winger putting crosses in to the box and in current form Lukaku will relish someone giving him the sort of service Dalot can offer.
The right back joked after the win against Southampton that he is happy to play anywhere on the pitch, even in goal, but joke aside it could be his versatility that turns out to be key for United at the Parc des Princes.