Marcus Rashford and Patrick Dorgu played a half each on the left flank as Man United lost 2-0 on the opening day to Hull City
It was an opening weekend to forget for Manchester United on Humberside. The Reds were a shadow of the team that ended last season by thrashing Brighton and Hove Albion as they stumbled to a 2-0 defeat against Hull City. The first half proved to be a disaster for the Reds with Semi Ajayi and Nobel Mendy scoring.
At the other end, United huffed and puffed but struggled to make inroads. Sensing the Reds needed a change, Michael Carrick hooked Patrick Dorgu at half-time and replaced him with Marcus Rashford. Ultimately, that decision did not impact the full-time score. However, it did place Dorgu in the firing line post-match.
When asked if he would ‘put an arm’ around the Denmark international after his half-time substitution, Carrick replied: “Pat’s fine, we love him to bits. He’s a fantastic player, Pat. He’s a great character.
“He’s a big part of what we do, and he will be. So it was just one of those decisions. It’s nothing personal. Sometimes you’ve just got to make them, you know, trying to do something a little bit different.”
United will take on Ipswich Town on Sunday with the pressure on the Reds to get off the mark. So ahead of that game, MEN Sport has analysed the performances of both Dorgu and Rashford on Saturday to decide who United should turn to this weekend.
Dorgu’s performance
Nobody was surprised to see Dorgu start on the left flank. Throughout pre-season, Carrick preferred Dorgu in that position after he excelled during the opening two matches of his interim spell in charge. However, Saturday was not his day.
One positive for Dorgu was that he at least tried to make something happen. He had three shots in the first half but, as per Opta, that represented just a 0.47 XG. Only Bryan Mbeumo offered a higher XG (0.5) in the first half for the away side. Dorgu was afforded these opportunities thanks to United’s persistence in attacking down the right flank and whipping balls towards the left.
As shown below, 48 per cent of United’s attacks were down the right flank in the first half. Dorgu’s average position was even marginally higher than Matheus Cunha’s, who was meant to be leading the line, showing the winger’s willingness to force chances for his team.
However, his work on the ball was disappointing. He didn’t have a single successful dribble, won just two out of eight duels, didn’t win back possession at all, lost it 8 times, was booked and didn’t manage a single cross, according to Opta.
For those reasons, Dorgu underwhelmed and this explained Carrick’s thinking behind the substitution. Dorgu is learning on the job in an attacking role and this was certainly a major learning curve for the Dane.
Rashford’s performance
United switched their tactics up and looked to involve Rashford far more in the second half. Dorgu made just 11 passes for the Reds in the first half, whereas Rashford managed 24 in the second.
Attacking build-up play was more evenly split but did favour the left, with 38.3 per cent of attacking moves coming down that flank. What Opta’s data also shows us is that Rashford spent most of his time hugging that left flank. While in the first half Dorgu was rushing to get into the box to finish chances, his replacement was looking to create opportunities.
That tactic did not work particularly well though. Rashford attempted three crosses against Hull, one of which was successful. While the lack of a focal point for much of the game worked against Rashford, it was a strange decision not to stick with the first-half plan, albeit their bluntness in the opening 45 could have influenced the decision to change things.
Rashford was more involved in open play, but he did not have a single shot in the game. Had United looked to create chances for Rashford as they did Dorgu in the first half then there is every possibility he would have taken one of them.
Verdict
Heading into the Ipswich game, there could be an easy fix for United. Rashford would benefit from getting into the same kind of positions as Dorgu did on Saturday and he is a better finisher than the man he replaced at Hull.
One of Rashford’s main criticisms has been the lack of work rate at times, failing to track back and help out the defence. In theory, Dorgu could offer more of that. But Rashford did show signs that he is willing to drop deeper and do the less glamorous parts of the game to help the team, albeit it was not needed as much in the second half as Hull looked to protect their lead.
Ultimately, it did not work with Dorgu on the left and he still needs time to learn that position. As for Rashford, there were some positive signs, enough to suggest he should start over Dorgu on Sunday. But United need to play more to his strengths if they are to get the best out of him.
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