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Manchester United succumbed to yet another pre-season defeat, losing 2-3 at the hands of Borussia Dortmund at the Allegiant Stadium in Nevada on Monday.
It might have been the last friendly of United’s US tour but manager Erik ten Hag will not be happy with what he has seen defensively from his team in the game.
The Red Devils were in complete control until the 40th minute, leading 1-0 thanks to a wonderful Diogo Dalot strike from the edge of the box.
Defensive lapses in both halves
But a couple of mistakes in the space of a minute allowed Donyell Malen to put the Bundesliga runners-up ahead heading into half-time.
Brandon Williams jumped into a tackle, got turned and eventually the ball fell to a completely unmarked Malen after a melee inside the box, who made no mistake.
Malen was the recipient of another gift when Victor Lindelof tried to thread a cute pass through the midfield instead of trying to keep hold of the ball and play a safe pass.
Antony equalised early in the second-half before a loose pass from Aaron Wan-Bissaka allowed Youssoufa Moukoko to score the winner.
Going forward, there was plenty to admire but the manager will be eager to improve his side’s defensive organisation ahead of the all-important game against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Second-half goalkeeper Andre Onana was not too pleased with his defenders and gave them quite the earful after Dortmund fashioned another chance.
While Ten Hag has insisted United need to score more goals in his second campaign as boss with transfers aimed at improving that aspect, questions will be asked about whether he should have concentrated on improving at the back as well.
Both right full-backs have question marks hanging above them. Dalot has defensive issues as seen from the first goal where he left Malen to cover the goal while Wan-Bissaka’s lax passing and inability to cover the back-post or play the off-side trap are concerning.
Do United need a new defender
The backup centre-backs in Lindelof and Harry Maguire are not at the requisite level as compared to the World Cup winning pair of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.
It was interesting to see Jonny Evans starting as Martinez’s partner instead of Lindelof or Maguire and it is clear to see the manager considers both to be backup options at best.
There were links with a new centre-back and a right-back earlier in the window but those seem to have quietened down. United missed out on Kim Min-jae while Axel Disasi seems to be heading elsewhere.
Jeremie Frimpong has not been thought of as an immediate requirement in the full-back department. United could do with a versatile centre-half capable of playing as full-back.
Maybe these talks will gather momentum from now until the end of the window.
