The tide seems to be turning for Ruben Amorim at Manchester United, as a positive result has been followed by an injury boost to a key player.
The 2-1 win against Chelsea brought an end to a vicious start to the Premier League, with the fixtures about to ease off slightly, at least on paper, once they play Liverpool on October 19.
Man Utd won two of their first five games, but Ruben Amorim will be happy with the underlying stats suggesting improvements are on the way.
He will be delighted, then, that the improvements are about to get further boosted as he can finally unleash his best defence and an injury boost to a key star.
Diogo Dalot injury update
Diogo Dalot has been an ever-present member of the Man Utd squad ever since he established himself over Aaron Wan-Bissaka under Erik ten Hag.
With a Player of the Year award to his name, Dalot has been a symbol of consistent availability, even if his performances have not been up to the mark all the time.
Still, having such a reliable presence has enabled him to become a key member of Amorim’s side, so it was a blow when he was injured on Portugal duty.
Dalot’s absence was at least timed as well as an injury could possibly be, because it coincided with Noussair Mazraoui returning from his own injury.
Mazraoui shone in Dalot’s absence as a right wing-back in big games, but the Portuguese is now back in full training with the squad.
It’s likely that he will be a part of the squad against Brentford, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he starts right away, such is his natural fitness.
If he does, then Amorim will finally be able to unleash his best defence at Man Utd.
Ruben Amorim’s ideal Man Utd defence
Amorim has plenty of options in defence, but his tendency to keep changing or subbing off the personnel at that position hints that he’s not fully satisfied with any combination.
That is because in an ideal Amorim defence, the wide centre-backs are as much full-backs as they are centre-backs.
They are tasked with running the channels out wide and helping the wing-back create overloads and passing triangles with the attacking midfielder.
Matthijs de Ligt does it admirably, but you ideally want him in his own box heading away balls and dominating the striker with his physical gifts.
Dalot’s return will allow Amorim to unleash his vision of having a full-back on both sides.
Dalot can play on the right, allowing Mazraoui to come inside as the right-sided centre-back, complementing Luke Shaw on the left perfectly.
The Man Utd manager was playing Mazraoui as the wing-back for defensive security, especially in bigger games, which meant a sacrifice was needed in central defence.
A core of Dalot and Mazraoui isn’t the most exciting on paper, but having two right-footed players, both capable with the ball, will allow Bryan Mbeumo to do what he does best – cut inside on his left and wreak havoc.
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