Manchester United struggled mightily at the Emirates on Sunday with Matteo Darmian’s performance a microcosm of the team’s poor display.
Up against arguably one of the best (if not the best) winger in the Premier League in Alexis Sanchez, Darmian looked far out of his depth. In the direct matchups against the Chilean, the right-back struggled to compete with Sanchez’s pace and physicality. To make matters worse, he was booked for pulling the winger’s shirt midway through the first half. Sanchez ultimately scored two goals for the Gunners as they routed Louis van Gaal’s side.
The full-back made a brilliant start to the season after transferring to Manchester United in the summer. Early on, supporters hailed him as the best signing of the summer thanks to his consistently good showings. He went on to win the August Player of the Month ahead of teammates Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw.
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Good form can’t continue forever though. Against PSV Eindhoven and Southampton, we saw an entirely different side to Darmian. Against PSV, the normally reliable defender made two errors that ultimately cost his side the win. On the first goal, he was beaten by Moreno. On the second goal, he surrendered possession that led to the go ahead score for the opposition.
His problems continued against Southampton despite Manchester United going on to win the match. Louis van Gaal was forced to substitute his right-back at half time in favor of Antonio Valencia because, in the manager’s own words, Darmian was being outplayed by Southampton’s Dusan Tadic.
Next up came two decent showings against Wolfsburg and Sunderland in which the Italian international was rarely tested. Against the Bundesliga side in the Champions League, Darmian dealt with young prospect Julian Draxler and limited his impact on the match, aside from his involvement in Wolfsburg’s early goal. In the prior match against the Black Cats, United dominated and the full-back was more involved in attack than defense.
The weakest performances of the season from the former Torino player have multiple connecting factors. First, Darmian faced off directly against class wingers as a result of the opposition’s formation: Moreno, Tadic, and Alexis. All three sides played in a formation with wingers, the same shape as United’s; for the Red Devils’ right-back that meant numerous man-to-man battles. Juan Mata did little to aid defensively, as has been characteristic of his wing play for the team.
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Additionally, the matches came as part of a couple of games in quick succession. While that’s consequential of United’s involvement in multiple competitions and is hardly a negative for the team, it could mean Darmian’s fitness isn’t at the level it needs to be. Considering his tendency to burst forward in attack with the rest of the team and Mata’s inability to cover the gap left behind, he’s constantly in motion. In the Arsenal match, Alexis capitalized on the vacancy in the right side of United’s defense by leading the quick counterattacks.
Fortunately for Manchester United and the defender, the international break could not have come at a more fortuitous time. During the downtime from league football, the Italian national team will face off against two weaker opponents in Azerbaijan and Norway. Regardless of whether or not Darmian plays, though he likely will, he will benefit from the fixture. If he does play, he’ll regain his confidence against the weaker opposition; if he doesn’t feature, he’ll relish the rest and recovery after a long September.
Once he returns to the United squad, van Gaal will have two options to further protect his summer signing. He can either change the formation or personnel to add an extra defensive layer on the right flank, or he can routinely give Darmian respite by giving Antonio Valencia the start instead. Granted, the Ecuadorian by no means has the same quality, but the alternative of playing a fatigued player puts the squad in a worse position.
Either way, after a brilliant start to the season for Darmian he’ll look reaffirm his ability in Manchester United’s first match against Everton after the international break.