Diogo Dalot has delivered a powerful message to his Manchester United colleagues, insisting they must never again take European football for granted after experiencing a season without it. While rivals like Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Nottingham Forest all compete in European knockout stages, United find themselves watching from the sidelines, enduring their shortest campaign since the 1914-15 season.
A Season of Reflection and Regret
Manchester United, who climbed to third place for the first time since 2023 after defeating Crystal Palace on Sunday, have been absent from the Champions League since the 2023-24 season, when they were eliminated in the group stage. Dalot believes this current feeling of emptiness within the dressing room should serve as a crucial reminder to prevent complacency when they eventually return to Europe's elite competition.
'I think seasons like this are good for you to know that when you're playing Europa League and especially Champions League, those are the best years, those are best seasons,' Dalot stated in an interview with Daily Mail Sport. 'This year we play, I don't know, maximum 40 games because we came out of the cups even in the early stage, so this is nowhere near what the club should be and the competitions that we should play in.'
Setting Sights on Champions League Return
Dalot emphasized that when United achieve their primary goal of qualifying for the Champions League, which he firmly believes will happen next season, they cannot afford to take it lightly. 'So when we are there, when we get the main goal that I really believe that we're going to do next season, if we're playing Champions League, we cannot take for granted. We need to put the club back in there,' he declared.
United are in a strong position to secure Champions League football, having accumulated 19 points from a possible 21 under the guidance of manager Michael Carrick. With England's UEFA coefficient expected to be robust enough for the top five teams to qualify for next season's Champions League, Dalot revealed the growing confidence within the squad.
The Path to Success
'That's the goal,' Dalot affirmed. 'We are very conscious that for us to be able to do that, we have to do games like today, where you don't control for 90 minutes, where sometimes you don't play like you should, but you find ways to win. And I think that's what defines sometimes those who stay at the top of the table and those who start dropping points and dropping places.'
He stressed the importance of such gritty performances, noting, 'We've been there, so I think this season, if we want to get to the end of the season and have the goal that we want, we need games like this.' United's recent victory was significantly aided by a man-of-the-match display from Bruno Fernandes, a player Dalot feels is still underappreciated by many.
Bruno Fernandes: An Underrated Leader
'A little bit, I think,' Dalot responded when asked if Fernandes is taken for granted. 'When you're so consistent, when you play for many years at a very high level, sometimes when you're not there for one game people start doubting and people start always thinking that you should do that all the time. But that's the most difficult thing in football, for you to be consistent during the whole season, whether you're going to have ups and downs, but he's always a player and person who shows up all the time and he never hides, so I think that's what this club needs.'
Dalot also highlighted Fernandes' leadership qualities, which uplift teammates during challenging moments. 'It's important because it keeps you alive during the game at every moment. He's a player who can read the game really well and can read pretty much all the positions on the pitch. So he always likes to guide you on that. If he has something that he believes that he can help you with, he will say it no problem.'
