Manchester United news: Need to be at our best level to go through, says Diogo Dalot

Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot has spoken about the admiration he has for FA Cup. Besides United, the 22-year-old right-back has played in Portugal, with his first club FC Porto. He has also played in Italy, where he had a one-year loan spell at AC Milan. Hence, Dalot has already experienced a variety of knockout competitions across Europe. It goes without saying that the FA Cup holds a special place in many people’s hearts in England. With United preparing to host Aston Villa in the third round of the historic competition at Old Trafford on Monday night, Dalot is undoubtedly looking forward to it.

“After playing a few cup games now in different leagues and in different countries, then I’d say the FA Cup is probably the most special one you can play in because of the history it has and the atmosphere you have in these kinds of games,” he explained.

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Dalot goes down the memory lane

Notably, Dalot was one of the scorers in the 2020 rout of Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park. Recalling the occasion fondly, the Portuguese full-back said, “I remember it was a very tough pitch to play on, probably one of the worst pitches I’ve played on, but we went there with the right mentality,” he explained in a sit down with United Review.

“Sometimes it’s not easy to play these types of games on these types of pitches when you’re used to playing on very high-quality pitches, but we went there with the right mentality and energy and we had some very good goals there.

“I remember Harry’s goal was fantastic, then to score my goal was a very good feeling and I have that shirt [from the game] framed to mark my first Man United goal, and I will remember that day forever.”

Dalot then opened up about United’s immediate opponent in the competition Aston Villa. “We’re facing a good team and we need to be at our best level to go through to the next round,” Dalot admitted.

“We want to start this competition well. We’re playing to win every single competition. I can’t lie – it would be a fantastic achievement for me if I could win an FA Cup for this club and hopefully we can lift the trophy at the end of the season.”