Damning stat from 1/10 Diogo Dalot shows Man United are no longer a serious football club

Football. Bloody Hell! In the week Manchester United marked 40 years since hiring their greatest ever manager, they staged a comeback in Fergie time to likely hand Michael Carrick a stay of execution. Carrick looked a dead man walking with his side 4-2 down to Aston Villa in the second minute of stoppage-time, only for substitutes Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu to throw him an unlikely lifeline. It was the type of late show Sir Alex made his trademark and the second time in six days United had pulled off a stunning rescue act . But Carrick must realise his team need to sort out their slapstick defending if this is to prove any more than a short-term lifeline, especially with a trip to Anfield next on the agenda. Damning Diogo Dalot stat says it all With legends of Ferguson’s glory years, including title winner Robin van Persie, watching on from the directors’ box, no player illustrates just how far off their perch they have fallen quite like Diogo Dalot. Dalot’s 257 United appearances means he has pulled on the famous red jersey more than stars such as Eric Cantona , Jaap Stam and Dimitar Berbatov. That alone is a damning reflection of why United are no longer operating as a serious football club under the self-harming Glazer/INEOS regime. At one stage on Sunday afternoon they were bottom of the table for the first since in 96 years. Comeback or no comeback, with players like Dalot playing week-in, week-out a relegation battle is a scary possibility, which is why Carrick has to find wins quickly. How the Portuguese kept his place after his horror show against Roma in midweek only Carrick will know. By the time Dalot was booed off as he was replaced by Patrick Dorgu mid-way through the second half, he had already helped gift Villa at least two of their four goals. As if being 2-0 down at home to Roma after 17 minutes before rallying to win 3-2 wasn’t dramatic enough, United’s sloppy defence decided to concede twice inside the first four minutes. The dozing Dalot allowed Alysson to get the wrong side of him before the Brazilian fired home through the legs of Lammens. Lammens is still waiting for his first Premier League clean sheet of the season, and the Belgian looks a shadow of the player he was when he was catapulted to number one last term. Lammens was even more culpable for Villa’s second goal three minutes later, pushing another Alysson shot straight into the path of Nicolas Jackson, who gleefully claimed his first ever goal against United. The home fans had staged a mass protest against the club’s ownership before kick-off by letting off green and yellow balloons into the sky. A giant banner unfold by the Stretford End read ‘ We don’t want a new stadium . We want new owners.’ For the second time in the space of a few days the atmosphere at Old Trafford threatened to turn toxic before a Bruno Fernandes penalty and deflected Youri Tielemans goal against his old club lifted the gloom. It was rinse and repeat in the second half as Dalot had another head loss just three minutes into the second half, allowing Alysson to drift inside him before lazily chopping him down. John McGinn slammed his last penalty against Fulham last weekend against the crossbar but was in no mood to let the hapless Dalot off the hook and smashed home from 12 yards. More calamitous defending from United gifted Villa their fourth as Leny Yoro inexplicably headed a McGinn free kick onto his own crossbar via the fingertips of Lammens. Nicolas Jackson kicked air on the rebound, but Leon Goretzka was waiting at the far post to tap into an empty net. Just like in the first half, United were the better team after conceding two quickfire goals, but there were plenty of empty seats by the time Zirkzee swept in Dorgu’s cross to reduce the deficit to one. Carrick looked like he did not know whether to laugh or cry when Dorgu rose to head in a Bruno Fernandes corner at the death. Villa’s appeals their goalkeeper Zion Suzuki had been impeded by Lammens, who had come up for the corner. Unai Emery grabbed his coat and headed back to the tunnel in disgust. Carrick doesn’t want to get his just yet. Manchester United player ratings