Diogo Dalot is not only one of the best Manchester United players this season – he is one of the best in the Premier League.
His defensive improvement has been very impressive, but to really reach the next level, Manchester United needed him to get better in attack.
Dalot has risen to the challenge, with statistics to back it up. The Portugal international’s Premier League numbers underline his improvement.
Dalot on par with De Bruyne and Alexander-Arnold
Dalot has delivered 10 successful crosses into the penalty box this season, per FBRef.
This is exactly level with Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne.
Only Ivan Perisic and Kieran Trippier have managed more, with 12.
This is a substantial improvement on last season for Dalot. This was a category topped by Alexander-Arnold last season with 25.
Last season he managed only seven successful crosses into the penalty box across the whole campaign. He has already bettered this in 12 games, with 26 remaining.
Dalot’s quality performances this season have been even more expansive in the Europa League, where he scored his first goal for the club last week since January 2020.
In the recent 1-0 win over Omonia at Old Trafford he created six goalscoring chances in 90 minutes.
On the other side of the ball, Dalot has won 20 tackles this season, more than any Manchester United player, and ranking inside the top 10 in the Premier League.
Dalot this week told The Times he is loving football under Erik ten Hag, having lost his enjoyment of the game under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
It shows on the pitch, where is an asset to the team in attack and defence, and this improvement is exciting to witness.
He only has one assist so far this season, his cross for Bruno Fernandes against Southampton, but the underlying numbers show he is making an impact, he’s getting successful deliveries into the box.
If he keeps this up, it will only be a matter of time before his teammates start becoming more clinical, and elevating Dalot’s assist figures.