Chris Smalling's Performance Offers Manchester United Champions League Hope

Manchester United would have been in a very awkward position had they failed to beat Wolfsburg at Old Trafford on Wednesday night, but thanks in large part to Chris Smalling, United dragged themselves over the finishing line and won the match.

Smalling came second in the club's Twitter poll to find their man of the match, behind an entirely deserving Juan Mata. However, Smalling's performance was typical of his recent contribution. 

He was determined, solid and intelligent in defence. He popped up with a very well-taken goal. He provided leadership in a reshuffled back four that struggled to cope with Wolfsburg at times. He made two tackles, three interceptions and seven clearances.

He completed two successful dribbles, an unusually high number for a centre-back, and perhaps evidence of his confidence at the moment.

That confidence was both demonstrated and presumably enhanced by the way he took his goal. If he meant his finish, using his outstretched leg to guide the ball past the 'keeper, then some of his more attacking colleagues will have looked on in admiration.

Having the presence of mind to gamble on Juan Mata's stunning backheel through ball showed a player in tune with his team-mates and in tune with the game as it was playing out.

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That reading of the game is an intangible, hard to prove with data, but watching Smalling on Wednesday, there was a sense of presence about him—a "right-place, right-time" quality to his defending, which speaks to how much he has grown into the role of senior man in United's back four.

Of course, it was not a perfect performance. Indeed, it got off to a very bad start. Of all the shambolic defending for Wolfsburg's goal, it was Smalling who was probably most at fault.

He allowed himself to get drawn into no-man's land twice in quick succession, as he unsuccessfully attempted to close down the player in possession, leaving space in behind for an unmarked Daniel Caligiuri to open the scoring.

However, his recovery was impressive. He rarely put a foot wrong from then on out, and getting on the scoresheet himself was a very direct way to make up for his mistake.

The departures of Patrice Evra, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic left a huge void of experience and leadership in United's defence. Chris Smalling is now apparently United's third captain and is slowly learning to fill that void.

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At the end of August, Louis van Gaal said, per Joe Bernstein of the Mail on Sunday: "Smalling is now always the third captain when the other two ([Wayne] Rooney and [Michael] Carrick) are gone. He has to develop himself as a captain more and more but that is also dependable on him being in the line-up."

He has been in the lineup more than any United other player in the league so far this season, playing every minute of every game. It is clearly doing the trick as far as the manager is concerned.

Speaking after the game on Wednesday night, Van Gaal was glowing about Smalling's development, saying, via the club's website: "I am so happy because it shall give him such a boost. His development as a player is amazing, so I am very happy with him."

The return to the Champions League came with such excitement for United fans. The opening encounter against PSV Eindhoven was a horrible one, both in terms of the result and the injury to Luke Shaw.

However, helped greatly by Smalling's contribution, United's campaign is back on track, and with performances like his on Wednesday night, they can take hope that they will qualify from the group stages.

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If they can continue to improve as a squad, and Van Gaal's gamble on a relatively small squad size is not undone by injuries, getting to the latter stages of the competition does not look impossible. With Smalling at the heart of their defence, they are beginning to look like a solid proposition.

All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com.