Manchester United tasted victory for the first time in 54 days with Tuesday’s dramatic 3-2 Champions League win against AS Roma at Old Trafford.
United were trailing 2-0 after 16 minutes before three second-half goals completed a remarkable turnaround. After the game, defender Diogo Dalot spoke to journalists.
Q: Could you put into words what that was like at the end?
A: A really good second half. I think we came with the right attitude. I think we did pretty much everything that we needed to do to turn the game and it's moments like this, it's nights like this, that can change momentum, and hopefully we can change ours.
Manager Michael Carrick has obviously been under some pressure the last few weeks. What does this result do for Carrick and is the dressing room still behind him at this moment?
It’s not just the manager, everyone is under pressure. When you don't win games for this football club, every moment, every person, everyone involved gets under pressure and we felt it obviously, because we're not near good enough of what we should have done. And like I said, nights like this can change momentum, can change seasons, and I think this win is going to give us confidence for the next games.
What was said at half-time? What was the mood like in the dressing room at half-time?
I think the key message from us, it's like we are getting disappointed too quick. I think 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 that we need to change.
It's moments like this, when even if you're not scoring goals, even if you're conceding chances, that you get energy to keep fighting for the game. And I think as soon as we came on at the second half, you saw the difference of intensity, the difference of putting on the right foot, and then you see the reaction from the crowd, and that that is also important from us, feeling that they are behind us, they are there for us, and that gave us extra boost.
Did the manager ask you to push very high at the start of the game?
Yes, obviously. 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. But after, obviously, after the second goal, we tried to fix it straight away. We balanced a little bit more the game and kept ourselves in the game, and I think second half we came right at it and won the game.
How much difference did the substitutes make, especially Shea Lacey?
They were just amazing. I think they came on with the right attitude and the right energy. I think that's the job of everyone that comes into the game to change the energy. I think sometimes it's difficult when you don't play – I've been there also – and the right attitude, when you have that, I think that's when you are building a good squad.
You're one of the senior players in this group. Can you take us through what the conversations have been like in the group the last few weeks?
These moments are really tough, I'm not going to lie. 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. I think that's the only way you can get confidence.
And nights like this, like I've said, give you an extra confidence that make you believe that 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, and I think we've showed, especially in the second 45 minutes, that we really want to turn this around.
What is it you did today that's different from the previous nine games?
Score goals. I think that's the biggest change. When the ball goes back in the net, that gives you confidence that keeps you in games, and the last few games we've conceded too many and scored too less. So I think the biggest change from our side was having the confidence that the ball was going in.
But first, obviously, comes the right attitude, running and putting the intensity that we need to put in the game, and I think that Roma felt straight away from the first minutes of the second half that we were going to fight for the result.
How did you manage the second half turnaround?
If you analyse it really cold, we had nothing more to lose. I mean, that's the unfortunate situation that we are in, so we just had to really go at it. And you can see the first five, 10 minutes that we were winning duels, we were on the front foot, the crowd came with us and pushed us forward, and I think once you create that energy inside the stadium like this, it's really tough for the opponents to create even a chance.
And I think that's the biggest thing that we need to get out of this game today is like 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.
