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Manchester United have got off to a nightmarish start to the 2022-23 Premier League season. They had a relatively easy pair of fixtures to navigate in the first couple of gameweeks. They were up against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, but they ended up losing both matches.
They were able to put up a fight in the second half of their 2-1 defeat to Brighton. However, the Red Devils were left red-faced against Brentford the following week. Erik ten Hag's men conceded as many as four goals by the 35th minute of the game and were fortunate that the scoreline didn't get any worse from then on.
They have not been able to sign their top transfer targets and some of the old guard have underperformed massively. Without further ado, let's take a look at five Manchester United starters who need to be benched.
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#5 Diogo Dalot
Over time, it has become quite clear that Diogo Dalot might not have the skillset required of a Premier League full-back. The defensive aspects of his game are quite suspect and the Portugal international has also been poor in possession.
The only saving grace in his game seems to be the fact that he can whip in a few crosses from time to time. But the quality of his balls is not at a level that makes him an undroppable member of the starting lineup.
Manchester United need to sign a quality right-back or they will keep leaking goals and wingers will thrive against them. For now, Dalot needs to be dropped for the more defensively astute Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
#4 Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire has been low on confidence for a very long time. If not for his awful performances, United need to strip the captaincy off him for his lack of conviction. There is no way Maguire is going to inspire this Manchester United team to do great things unless he himself starts performing at a high level.
It is time to give Raphael Varane another run in the starting lineup and perhaps give the captain's armband to another player. Maguire's status as an automatic starter has not gone down well with the fanbase either as he seems to suffer no repercussions for underperforming regularly.
#3 Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw makes this list over Bruno Fernandes purely due to the fact that Tyrell Malacia, who is viewed as a backup to the Englishman, seems ready to take over. Shaw has been woeful in defence and very rarely makes anything happen in the final third.
He keeps pinging speculative balls into the box which are lacking in both pace and direction. The 27-year-old has also done poorly with the ball at his feet, losing possession as many as 10 times in the first half against Brentford.
His inability to mark his man was exposed when Bryan Mbuemo when he scored Brentford's fourth goal against United last weekend. Shaw needs to be replaced by the hungrier Malacia at least for now.
#2 Marcus Rashford
Marcus Rashford has been bang-average for Manchester United over the last year or so. He has looked bereft of confidence and there is nothing about his game these days that should earn him a starting place in this Manchester United team.
It's been a while since we saw anything creative from Rashford down the wings and almost every full-back he goes against seems to have his number. His crossing has been woeful and his finishing atrocious in recent times.
Rashford has contributed very little of late and the United fanbase are starting to lose their faith in him. He needs to put his head down and work hard or he might not even be at United for much longer.
#1 David de Gea
The unfortunate thing for Manchester United is that they had a well-rounded goalkeeper in Dean Henderson to replace David de Gea last season. Henderson is currently on loan at Nottingham Forest and his recent comments suggest that his future might lie away from Manchester United.
The Englishman is a modern goalkeeper with a broader skillset unlike De Gea, whose shot-stopping seems to be the only commendable part of his game. He was United's worst player against Brentford, letting in two silly early goals to effectively beat his own side before the clock even struck the 20-minute mark.
De Gea made a schoolboy error for the first goal, letting a tame Josh Dasilva shot leak through his hands. He then put Christian Eriksen in trouble by delaying a pass and playing it to the Dutchman when he was closely monitored by Mathias Jensen. The error immediately led to Brentford's second goal.
His tendency to hug the goalline cost United once again as Brentford scored their third goal of the evening. The fact that Ten Hag has to call on Tom Heaton to replace De Gea is a bit concerning.
However, Heaton ought to be able to do a much better job than the Spaniard who seems to have gotten really poor at a vocation he used to excel at.
