Diogo Dalot reveals “most difficult” part of Man United’s season | OneFootball

Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has insisted that the club’s absence from Europe has been the toughest aspect of the season.

Historic low

United have been out of Europe this season for just the second time in 35 years, following their loss to Tottenham Hotspur in last year’s Europa League final.

To make matters worse, the Red Devils were eliminated from the Carabao Cup and FA Cup by Grimsby Town and Brighton & Hove Albion respectively at the first hurdle. This means that United will play only a maximum of 40 games this term. This represents the shortest campaign in the club’s history since the First World War.

In addition to lengthy pauses between fixtures, United have also had to contend with their Premier League rivals playing in Europe while they watch on from home.

Dalot spoke to the Daily Mail and revealed that this has been the greatest difficulty of the season.

Dalot makes honest revelation

The Portugal international said, “It’s hurt to see our Premier League rivals involved in the Champions League and cup finals. Personally, I think this has been the most difficult season in that aspect – being at home watching everyone else play while we are just training.”

“It’s nowhere near where this club should be. However, it gives you even more hunger and a sense of responsibility to ensure that when we are back in those competitions. We never take those moments for granted.”

Dalot named United’s Carabao Cup final triumph over Newcastle as the highlight of his time at Old Trafford so far.

“I’ve had quite a journey since signing for Manchester United in 2018, but my favourite memory will always be the first time I won a trophy for the club.”

“That feeling is exactly why you sign for United: to win trophies and compete in the best competitions. It was the first time I really felt, ‘okay, this is how it feels to win for this club’, and it acted like an unlock that made me want to win even more.”

The 27-year-old was speaking as part of the DHL Express ‘Delivering Dreams’ campaign, through which United teamed up with their partner to deliver an all-weather training pitch to the remote community of Mae Suek in Thailand. As the Daily Mail point out, the pitch will allow more than 1,000 children from two schools and three neighbouring villages to have access, irrespective of the prevailing conditions. 

Dalot said about the initiative, “The Delivering Dreams campaign provides such a beautiful pitch for a lot of kids and the wider community to enjoy. They previously had to travel a couple of hours to be able to play football on a professional standard pitch, so we’re very happy to be a part of changing that.”

He stressed the value of starting somewhere, drawing on his own experience growing up in Portugal, where he played on concrete surfaces with bottles serving as improvised posts.

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