Chris Smalling Is Emerging as a Top-Class Defender at Manchester United

Although Club Brugge are far from the strongest opposition Manchester United will face this season, Chris Smalling’s display against the Belgian side continued his impressive start to the campaign and highlighted his emergence as a top-class defender.

In the nine months since being sent off during the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium, the 25-year-old has improved considerably. His performance in United’s first UEFA Champions League game in over a year illustrated that he is now a calmer, more assured centre-back.

Time after time in United’s 3-1 victory, Smalling made blocks, clearances, interceptions and tackles that prevented Club Brugge from mounting dangerous attacks. His passing and distribution may have been a touch erratic at times, but right now United look a better team with him in the heart of defence.

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Once regarded as a weaker defender than Jonny Evans and Phil Jones, Smalling is now unequivocally the best defender of the trio.

So much so that Evans hasn’t featured in a matchday squad for United this season and could well be sold this summer. Jones, though ill, probably wouldn’t have played after a poor performance in the final pre-season game against Paris Saint-Germain.

The point is that it’s Smalling who has emerged as a long-term, viable option for United at centre-back when many thought that Evans and Jones were better-equipped to do so.

The former Maidstone United and Fulham defender is dominating his opponents in the air, tackling strongly and, perhaps most importantly, offsetting defensive concerns following the departures of club legends Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.

Smalling has some way to go before he reaches the calibre of the aforementioned duo, but he seems to have done the hard part in ousting Jones and Evans from the side and now has the opportunity to become a permanent fixture in the team.

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What was most impressive about Smalling’s display against Club Brugge was the level of control he displayed. Much like his first two performances this season, he was commanding at centre-back and authoritative to the point that he bullied the opposing strikers.

The Belgian side, to their credit, attacked with purpose and didn’t just defend for 90 minutes. But it is to Smalling’s greater credit that they rarely looked like scoring. His yellow card late on was the one fault in an otherwise flawless defensive game.

In the first half, one moment stood out: Smalling pounced on a loose touch from Abdoulay Diaby, wrestled him off the ball and charged forward to play an attacking pass to Wayne Rooney on the right-hand side. It was a passage of play that showcased him at his very best, regaining possession dominantly, carrying the ball into the opponent’s half and passing the ball to a team-mate.

In the second period, another moment stood out, and it was one that demonstrated how much he has improved as a player in 2015 under manager Louis van Gaal’s tutelage.

Following an uncharacteristically stray back pass from Bastian Schweinsteiger, Smalling found himself running toward his own goal in a foot race with Diaby. But instead of panicking and making an error, as he might have done in seasons gone by, he retained his composure, dribbled to side of the pitch and cleared the ball down the line.

It was far from Smalling’s most eye-catching contribution on the night, but perhaps it was his most significant. Where the player of old often seemed ungainly and clumsy, the new version kept a cool head and rectified another player’s mistake.

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One of the reasons why Smalling has improved so much within the last year, particularly at the start of this season, is because United’s setup suits him extremely well.

Matteo Darmian’s proclivity to defend first and attack second ensures that he rarely gets isolated at the back, while Daley Blind’s classy and incisive passing complements his more physical and robust style. The presence of Morgan Schneiderlin—a ball winner—slightly further ahead also lightens his workload.

The way United play defensively allows Smalling to focus on defending in central areas. In the first game of the season against Tottenham Hotspur, he raced across the penalty area to make a timely block on Nacer Chadli. Six days later, he cut out a through ball on the edge of the box in what was arguably Aston Villa’s most dangerous moment in the game.

The bottom line is that, in addition to Smalling’s improvement on a personal level, United are playing in a way that maximises his strengths and minimises his weaknesses. If he can improve his distribution and passing, he will become a very complete defender.

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At a time when United arguably still need a world-class defender in order to challenge for silverware, Smalling’s performances suggest Van Gaal may only need to buy one centre-back rather than two.

The Ferdinand-lite tag may be slightly premature, but he is well placed to follow in his former team-mate’s footsteps and become a central figure in United’s defence.

His best displays in the last year—Liverpool away and Manchester City at home—illustrated that he can perform in the biggest games against the biggest opposition.

Club Brugge don’t fall into that category, but Smalling demonstrated against the Belgian side that he is emerging as a top-class defender and someone who United can rely on.


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