"He was a little bit of a liability at both ends" - Pundit asks Ruben Amorim to drop Manchester United star from XI for Brighton clash

Former Manchester United defender turned pundit Paul Parker has urged head coach Ruben Amorim to drop Diogo Dalot from the starting XI for their upcoming Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Dalot has been a mainstay in Amorim’s squad this season, having started almost every Premier League match for the Red Devils. Naturally a right-back, the Portuguese international has been deployed as a wing-back on both sides in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 setup.

With Manchester United hoping to continue their winning streak after securing back-to-back league victories for the first time under Amorim, Dalot is expected to feature against the Seagulls. However, Parker holds a different opinion.

Speaking to Metro, Parker suggested replacing Dalot with Noussair Mazraoui for the Brighton game, insisting the Moroccan right-back is better both defensively and offensively. He labeled Dalot a ‘liability,’ claiming he 'never contributed anything at both ends of the field.'

“I’m a believer in continuity, but I just wonder if the team’s a little bit static,” Parker said. “Because I look at Dalot, does he go with Dalot again after his performance in that game? I would say no. I saw Noussair Mazraoui sitting on the bench. I’d get Mazraoui just for his energy levels as well and the fact that he’s good defensively, he’s better defensively and he’s better when he gets in the attacking third, which would be on a more consistent basis because United are the home side so you’d expect your wing-back to be able to get forward.

He added:

“Diallo will get forward from that position, but if it was on the other side, if you looked at Dalot, he never contributed anything at both ends of the field. He was a little bit of a liability at both ends. So that’s what the manager’s got to make his mind up about what he’s going to do. For me, that’s how he’s going to get something from the game, get his most athletic players out there.”

Mazraoui returned in time for Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Liverpool after being on the sidelined for nearly a month. However, he was an unused substitute in the Anfield clash.

“They move the ball” – Paul Parker warns Manchester United of Brighton’s threat

Speaking further, Parker opined that Manchester United will have a ‘more difficult’ game against Brighton than they did against Liverpool. He believes the Seagulls possess a dynamic midfield and are more productive with the ball.

Parker continued.

“Just to be able to have the legwork and the desire to want to run forward and back," Parker continued. "Because of the fact that Brighton haven’t got a static midfield like Liverpool and like Arsenal. “The two games where they’ve played best this season have been against static midfield players that don’t run off the ball forward and running behind. So, that suits Manchester United. Brighton play different. They move the ball, they’re more productive with the ball. They’ve got forwards who will run in and out. They’ve got full-backs who will run forwards, so this is that this is a more difficult game than what it was against Liverpool.”

Manchester United have won just one of their last three games against Brighton, most recently a 3-1 defeat at home in January last season.

Edited by Ezekiel Olamide