Diogo Dalot believes Manchester United’s comeback win against Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday can transform their troubled season and, as importantly, showed unhappy supporters that the players care.
The Glazer family, who have owned United since 2005 and loaded £1.2bn of debt onto the club, continue to be the focus for fan anger and there was yet another protest against them before kick-off at Old Trafford, with thousands of green and gold balloons released from the Stretford End. The home crowd sang anti-Glazer songs and threw tennis balls on to the pitch when the clock showed 20 minutes and five seconds, to symbolise the year 2005. The team have seven points from their opening nine games of the Premier League season; their worst start since 1987-88.
The players have also been criticised, with the Stretford End turning on them as they left the pitch after the recent 3-0 defeat against Bournemouth . The fans had previously serenaded the manager, Michael Carrick, who they back to the hilt.
Dalot was the last player to depart that day. He walked off slowly and looked defiant in the face of the jeers. It was a much happier story for him and the team against Roma, with Matheus Cunha’s two late goals sealing a 3-2 victory. United had been booed off at half-time as they trailed 2-0. Bruno Fernandes started the revival when he scored with a retaken penalty.
“These moments are really tough, I’m not going to lie,” Dalot said. “Unfortunately, I’ve had a few moments like this in the past and the only way for us to get out is by winning football games. Nights like this [against Roma] give you an extra confidence that makes you believe you can create these moments – not just for us but for the fans. And it’s important from everyone around the club feeling that we care, that we want to turn this around. I think we showed, especially in the second 45 minutes, that we really want to turn this around.”
Dalot, now into his ninth season as a United player, is a symbol of the club’s difficulties; the muddled thinking. Forced to play out of position at left-back as the only specialist in the position – Luke Shaw – is injured, he has given his all. But with imbalances and weaknesses elsewhere in the defence, the Portuguese’s best efforts have not always been enough. The decision of the United hierarchy not to sign any defensive reinforcements over the summer continues to dumbfound.
Dalot, who has been a target for social media abuse, was a part of the dismal first-half performance against Roma. Carrick took a risk by asking him to push high up the field at the outset, knowing that any turnovers could lead to problems. Which is precisely what happened for the first concession after Kobbie Mainoo lost the ball in central midfield. Roma moved easily into the space that United had vacated at left-back to score through Matias Soulé. Their winning of the penalty for the second goal also came as Dalot was committed forward.
He was asked whether Carrick had told him to play so high. “Yes, obviously,” Dalot replied. “We knew that they were going to play man-to-man but that requires some things that we need to avoid – especially losing balls in the middle because we knew that we’re going to be too open. Obviously, after the second goal, we tried to fix it straight away. I think we balanced a little bit more the game [after that].”
To borrow a phrase from Thomas Tuchel, United played “fuck it football” in the second half. Tuchel said Argentina had adopted this approach against his team in the World Cup semi-final as they trailed 1-0. Argentina scored late goals to win 2-1 .
“If you analyse it really cold, we had nothing more to lose,” Dalot said. “I mean, that’s the unfortunate situation we are in. So we just had to really go at it. In the first five, 10 minutes of the second half, we were winning duels, we were on the front foot. The crowd came with us and pushed us forward.
“Once you create that energy inside the stadium, it’s really tough for the opponents to create even a chance. That’s the biggest thing we need to get out of this game – when we play like this, when you have the right attitude, when the fans really believe that we are there, we can be a very strong team. It is not just the manager, everyone is under pressure. We felt it, obviously. Nights like this can change momentum, they can change seasons.”
United face Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday and will need to show the same resilience. “The key message from us [during half-time against Roma] … it’s like we’re getting disappointed too quick,” Dalot said. “Every moment in the game where it doesn’t go the way that we want, it’s like we let ourselves down a little bit. That’s the momentum we need to change.”
