1 day Ago By [email protected] (Andy Dunn)
In a team widely decried as being without leaders, all of a sudden they were everywhere. Harry Maguire refusing to be passed, Kobbie Mainoo ignoring a kick to the head to boss the midfield , Manuel Ugarte putting up one of his most imposing performances in a Manchester United jersey. And then there was Diogo Dalot, the frequently-doubted Diogo Dalot, the right-back playing as a left wing-back.
In the draw at Anfield, he had the most touches in the opposition box, made the most crosses in open play, won possession the most times. In overall passes and touches, he ranked second. Those were the impressive statistics.
The more striking visual takeaway was that he made Trent Alexander-Arnold ’s life a misery for an hour and a half. It was part of a United performance that was the best under Ruben Amorim. And it came on a day when the new manager's call for leaders finally seemed to be answered.
“It pinched me,” declared Dalot. “That's what he wants for every player. I've been here for a while.
I know I can step up a little bit more and I'm going to try to help my teammates for as long as I can. As long as I'm on the pitch and outside the pitch, I will try to help them. You could see that we were more of a team.
” But Dalot knows that there will be plenty of people just waiting for this bunch of United players to follow up a promising display with a string of wretched ones. "I think we showed that we want to get out of the situation,” said Dalot. “To get out of it, the minimum we need to show is the attitude that we showed against Liverpool - the fighting spirit, the winning duels, showing that it is going to be a tough day for a club like Liverpool.
“We knew that the only way to come out of the game proud of ourselves was if we had the right attitude, fighting for the result and I think, to be honest, that we could have won it. You need to do this every game and be dominant.” And Dalot also admitted that Amorim’s reference to relegation gave them a jolt, adding: “I think it changed the approach.
I think we started the game with the attitude that we want to show from now onwards. I think we showed we can be a really good team, a proper team, fighting for the badge ..
. and then I think the results will come.” While there might have been a positive shift in mentality, Dalot also reckons there was a practical reason behind United’s improvement, having had almost a week between games.
He explained: “It changed that we had a little bit more time to train. People might think that it was an excuse but it's not. “We actually had some time to get to know a little bit more what the manager wants us to do.
I think put a little bit more everybody on the same page. It’s proper training, it's time on the pitch, knowing what everybody wants to do.” So, how long will it take for Amorim’s methods to produce consistently good results? “That’s the million dollar question for everybody,” smiles Dalot.
“What we know is what we can control tomorrow. We have a good week to train and prepare for the FA Cup game against Arsenal and I think this (the Liverpool match) is a good sign for us that when we train properly, when we know what to do, when we have the right approach, we can do things the fans enjoy.” Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content.
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