Manchester United season player ratings: Centre-backs
By Ollie Slack
Chris Smalling – 8/10
Chirs Smalling often gets a lot of stick from the Twitterati. However, he has clearly gained Mourinho’s trust. His performances deserve to have gained the trust from the United faithful too.
The English centre-half has had his best season since 2015/16, where under Louis Van Gaal he became a stalwart in the defence.
He is the only United defender (46) to play more than 30 and 40 games this season. From September to December he started 14 consecutive Premier League matches and then from January to May he started 15 consecutive matches. This shows how important he has been for Mourinho in a season where injured centre-backs have been a common occurrence.
Smalling’s strong and blunderbuss-like defending has been a little cringy to watch at times but it has been very effective. This has also helped the inexperienced Victor Lindelof to settle, as the two compliment each other really well.