Dalot: We must embrace the pressure in Europe

Diogo Dalot says the pressure on Manchester United to win the UEFA Europa League is normal at this club and something the players embrace going into the competition’s latter stages.

United are the only remaining unbeaten team across the Europa League and Champions League this season as we prepare to take on Lyon in Thursday’s quarter-final first leg at the Groupama Stadium in France.

Dalot has played in every one of our 10 games thus far, scoring in two of the most recent three, in a 2-0 away win at FSCB in January and against Real Sociedad in February’s 4-1 home victory.

Now, he’s eager to feed off the supporters’ energy and progress towards May’s final in Bilbao.

“You can feel when we are playing Europa League games that the club and the fans really want it,” he told club media.

Diogo: You can tell the fans want it! Video

Diogo: You can tell the fans want it!

DALOT ON EUROPE | Diogo says you can tell how much fans want Europa glory as he previews our quarter-final first leg…

“So we just need to combine that energy and put it on the pitch to get towards the goal that we want.

“The pressure is always there at United. You start the season and you can see that the expectation is always that Man United has to fight for every trophy. So, it’s something normal, but obviously, it will have a little bit extra because you know that if you win the Europa League you can play Champions League next year.

“I think at the same time that that little extra pressure has to give you motivation to actually do it and actually want to do it, so I look at it like that.”

Dalot is in his seventh season at United now and believes he’s learnt how to handle that external scrutiny well.

“You cannot teach a player, manager or member of staff how it is to be a Manchester United player or a person working at this club,” he said.

Highlights: United v Real Sociedad Video

Highlights: United v Real Sociedad

SHORT HIGHLIGHTS | United hosted Real Sociedad, with a place in the Europa League quarter-finals at stake…

“You only realise once you arrive here. You can have an idea but once you step in, then you realise how big this club is, how much the pressure is and you start knowing how to deal with this type of situation. Obviously I’ve been here for quite a while now and have been through every scenario, I would say. I always try to keep really balanced, and I think that’s the best way of being consistent.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re unbeaten if you don’t win it. Hopefully we can be unbeaten until the end, and win it! But it’s a good sign that we’ve been doing really well this season in the Europa League and we want to keep going until we play in Bilbao.”

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