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Dalot determined to right Spurs wrongs
Thursday 19 December 2024 10:30
Diogo Dalot has warned Tottenham that Manchester United should be a different proposition to the one they faced in September’s Premier League meeting.
The first-half red card for skipper Bruno Fernandes, later rescinded, naturally had a huge impact on proceedings, with the Reds ultimately slipping to a painful 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford.
It was the first thing on Dalot’s mind when we spoke to preview the Carabao Cup quarter-final at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as the final slot in the last four is up for grabs.
Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United progressed to the two-legged semi-finals on Wednesday night.
“It’s going to be a good game, especially because of the feeling that we left the last game that we played against them at Old Trafford,” the defender told club media. “I think we didn’t play our best. So we want to give a different response in these type of games.
“I think we started the game in the worst way possible. So I think we have to, from the start, show that we are going there to win the game. We want to go to Wembley again.
“So these are the best games to play against really good teams. They are a good team, so it’s a good challenge that we are looking forward to.”
It is the first part of a north-London double header for Ruben Amorim’s men, with the Emirates FA Cup third-round clash at Arsenal to come in the new year.
However, Dalot refuses to group the challenges that way, commenting: “We just we just go one game by game. I know it’s a cliche, but it doesn’t matter. We don’t and we cannot focus too much on what’s coming ahead.
“We just have one game to play now on Thursday. So we’re going to focus on that.”
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Clearly, everybody is buoyed by the Manchester derby win at the weekend and Dalot was most pleased with the manner of the victory, plus the fact it enabled the jubilant away fans to celebrate at the Etihad Stadium.
“Yeah, obviously, it was really important for us as a team, for the club, also for the fans especially, as they’ve been sticking with us all the way through,” he explained. “And it’s important for us to realise that this is the way that we want go. Obviously, as a team, it was a really good team win, fighting until the end for the result. I think it’s important and really shows some character.
“I had my family in there [the away end]. They always try to be close to me, to watch the games. So it was really also even more special to have them there. I think they had a really good experience being in with the away fans.
“After conceding the goal and the way that the City fans celebrated so close to them, then they had the opportunity to also celebrate two goals. I think it was special for them as well. And, obviously, celebrate a win, an important win for us.”
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“It shows that we are going in the right direction,” he continued. “But, obviously, it’s just one game. In football, you can only be as good as your last game. So, obviously, it’s important because we won against a really good team that has been dominating English football for a while.
“So that shows that, if we can build from this, we can improve and, hopefully, in the future, we can be in that position also. So it’s important for us, and for the club, because it’s a derby. We have to win it against the rivals. So it was really, really good from us to take that win. And now it’s on to the next one.
“I had the opportunity to say it was probably the first time, since I arrived, for me personally when I played at the Etihad. It was probably the first time that we felt that we were in control. In control of the game but also emotionally controlled. We never lost our heads.
“So that’s, I think, really clear and it was really clear that we were always there believing that we could score at any moment. The first goal shows that because we wanted to keep the pressure on. We wanted to be on the front foot and, hopefully, we did it. So it shows that we are progressing towards the direction that this club has to go in.”
Amorim suggested he noted a difference in mentality to the league defeat at Arsenal earlier this month, with more conviction and belief that our possession would turn into goals.
It is a view Dalot agrees with, and will hope to see more of from the team, in the 20:00 GMT kick-off against Spurs.
“I think it was the biggest difference from the Arsenal game,” the Portugal international concurred. “Although we had the control also, in my opinion, against Arsenal, it was just that lack of aggression in the final third. That lack of belief that we could score at any moment, even when we were 2-0 down, I think that it was the flipside of this for this game.
“We were completely the opposite. Even when we were losing 1-0 against City, we believed that we could score at any moment. And I think that’s the big thing, that was the biggest change. So you can see also progress from here. But like I said, if you don’t do it in the next game, it doesn’t really feel the same way. So we have to keep this momentum and keep the same things for the upcoming games.”
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Thursday 19 December 2024 10:30
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