Manchester United right-back Diogo Dalot says he and his team-mates will enter Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City with “the right mentality” and has stated that being considered as underdogs gives him an extra motivation to win.
The clash at Wembley Stadium this weekend will be a repeat of last year’s final, where City were 2-1 winners on the day and went on to lift an historic treble.
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Pep Guardiola’s side could win a double should they beat United, having won this season’s Premier League title. United, meanwhile, finished eighth, their lowest top flight finish since 1989-90.
Dalot, who has been one of United’s most consistent performers this season and voted as the club’s players’ player of the year, claims he understands why United aren’t being considered as favourites to lift the trophy, but believes his side have what it takes to defeat City.
He said: “We finished the game (last season’s final) with that feeling of ‘we could have won it’ and to be so close to winning it and not doing it, this season we have another opportunity.
“So the message from inside (the club) is that this is our game of the season. That’s the way we’re facing it, that’s the way we want to face it as well, and the way that we should face it.
“For me personally, it gives me more energy (going into the game as underdogs). You shouldn’t be the underdog when you’re at Manchester United, but at the same time we’re facing a team that has been dominating English football — whether we like it or not — and we want to be there. We want to be the team in the future that everyone thinks is going to win automatically. So for me it gives me energy, because I don’t want to be in that position.
“I’ve been at this club for a while now and I want to feel that feeling of dominance in every game and in every competition we play, everywhere we go. So that, for me, is good, because it gives me even more energy to want to win it. But at the same time, the energy inside Carrington has to be ‘if they think they’re going to win, let’s see if they’re going to do it’ and that’s the kind of push that I’m trying to give my team-mates. We’re trying to build up for this game this week and we’re going to go there with the right mentality.”
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Dalot has played 49 games across all competitions for United this season, scoring three and assisting five.
The 25-year-old has been a mainstay in United’s defence, despite Erik ten Hag’s side facing a number of injuries throughout the campaign to their backline.
United’s inconsistent performances have seen pressure increase on Ten Hag, but Dalot has come out to support the Dutchman, arguing he has been “an amazing manager”.
“We look to him (Ten Hag) as our leader,” he said. “Normally this is what leaders do; they always take the bullets for everyone. But make no mistake about it, don’t misunderstand it — we take responsibility for what we do on the pitch.
“Obviously he tries to give his best, we try to give our best. But this is the type of connection that we need to have, with players and with the manager and we have a good connection with him. And he’s been an amazing manager in terms of trying to put us back on top.”
GO DEEPER
How 'grafter' Dalot is starting to deliver as Manchester United's top right-back
(Michael Steele/Getty Images)
