By Sam Preston

Dalot impressed at both ends of the pitch against West Ham

Diogo Dalot started once again for Manchester United as they hosted West Ham this afternoon.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s continued absence had handed Dalot opportunities he was not getting under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

He was BT Sport’s man of the match against Brentford in midweek and performed well again against the Hammers as United kept a rare clean sheet.

United were not too often challenged by their visitors and Dalot impressed at both ends of the pitch here.

As per WhoScored, only Alex Telles on the other side put in more tackles than Dalot’s four.

Nobody made more interceptions (2) or clearances (4) as Dalot played his part in the shutout.

That may well have caught Ralf Rangnick’s eye for an additional reason as the German called on Dalot to improve defensively in the lead-up to the game.

He did also showcase the attacking qualities we all know he has, laying on two key passes for teammates, more than either of United’s wingers on the day, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Elanga.

He also took to Instagram after the match to celebrate a vital victory which takes United into the top four of the Premier League, ahead of their visitors.

Dalot’s passion shone through in his post-match celebrations and he summed that up with his message on social media.

United now have a break from action and that may allow Wan-Bissaka to recover from the illness which has been keeping him out of the team.

That said, Dalot has given Rangnick no reason to consider dropping him out of the team.

The German is moving towards a blueprint with attacking full-backs and a 4-3-3, which is what the end-goal really should have been under Solskjaer.

Dalot is playing his part in that and shone again here.

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Sam Preston

Sam Preston is an NCTJ gold standard news and sports journalist who studied with the Press Association. He also has a 2:1 law with French law degree from the University of Birmingham, which included a year studying at Bordeaux Montaigne University. He is an FA Level 1 football coach who appeared on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show in 2018 and has also written digital football content and match-day programme pieces for Colchester United, Mansfield Town and Stockport County.