“Very proud moment”: Diogo Dalot issues reaction to special achievement in loss to Villa | OneFootball

Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has revealed his pride at being named captain during the second half of the club’s 2-1 loss to Aston Villa on Sunday.

Dalot sports armband

Having joined United in 2018 from Porto as a highly-rated prospect, Dalot took time to finally cement his place at Old Trafford.

He even spent the 2020/21 season on loan at AC Milan, but has since become one of the club’s most important players in recent years. Erik ten Hag relied on Dalot and Ruben Amorim has followed the same path, regularly deploying the player as one of the wing-backs in his preferred 3-4-2-1 system.

As United fell to a 2-1 defeat to Villa, Bruno Fernandes picked up a rare injury that saw him withdrawn at the interval.

Fernandes was replaced by Lisandro Martinez on the pitch but the armband was passed on to Dalot.

It was the first time Dalot captained United. A member of the leadership group in the dressing room, Dalot spoke to club media and expressed his immense pride at receiving the honour.

Dalot reacts to United captaincy

The Portugal international said, “Yeah, it’s obviously a very proud moment.”

“I look back to the first day that I arrived here and it was not even in my mind to one day wear the armband of this club.”

Dalot continued, “Obviously I wanted to build my career here and be a very important player for the team. I think me being able to go through every phase that a football player can be at a club makes it even more special.”

“But at the same time, I know that we have very good players that can represent the standards of the club and I’m just happy to be one of them.”

United are next in action on Friday when they host Newcastle.

It remains to be seen whether Amorim will retain Dalot as captain or turn to alternatives like Luke Shaw, Casemiro, Martínez, or even a returning Harry Maguire for the fixture.

Featured image Alex Pantling via Getty Images

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