Diogo Dalot believes Manchester United were able to produce a memorable comeback against Roma in the Champions League because they had "nothing to lose".
United started brightly against Roma at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, but the Italian side scored twice in seven minutes to take control of the match. A Bruno Fernandes penalty before the hour mark gave United a lifeline, and Matheus Cunha scored twice in the final 10 minutes to secure a stirring 3-2 victory.
Dalot on the comeback mindset
"I mean, I think obviously, if you analyse it really cold, we had nothing more to lose," Dalot told journalists. "I mean, that's the unfortunate situation that we are in, so we just had to really go at it. And you can see the first five, 10 minutes that we were winning duels, we were on the front foot, the crowd came with us and pushed us forward."
"And I think once you create that energy inside the stadium like this, it's really tough for the opponents to create even a chance. I think that's the biggest thing that we need to get out of this game today is like when we play like this, when you have the right attitude, when the fans really believe that we are there, we can be a very strong team."
Half-time message and substitutes' impact
Speaking about the dressing room talk at half-time, Dalot said: "I think the key message from us, it's like we're getting disappointed too quick. I think every moment in the game where it doesn't go the way that we want, it's like we let ourselves down a little bit. I think that's the momentum that we need to change. It's moments like this, when even if you're not scoring goals, even if you're conceding chances, that you get energy to keep fighting for the game."
"And I think as soon as we came on at the second half, you saw the difference of intensity, the difference of putting on the right foot, and then you see the reaction from the crowd, and that is also important from us, feeling that they are behind us, they are there for us, and that gave us extra boost."
The introduction of Shea Lacey with 15 minutes remaining also gave United a boost. "No, they were just amazing," said Dalot of the substitutes. "I think they came on with the right attitude and the right energy to put us even better in the game. I think that's the job of everyone that comes into the game to change the energy. And I think sometimes it's difficult when you don't play - I've been there also - and the right attitude, when you have that, I think that's when you're building a good squad."
