Diogo Dalot has urged Manchester United to use Saturday's dramatic 2-1 win over Brentford as a "turning point" after a difficult start to the season.
United looked set for a third successive home league defeat for the first time since the 1970s when Brentford led at Old Trafford at the end of 90 minutes. However, a quickfire Scott McTominay double in injury time earned Erik ten Hag's side a much-needed three points.
It has been a frustrating campaign so far for United, who have lost half of their eight Premier League games and suffered back-to-back defeats in the Champions League to leave an uphill task of qualifying for the knockout stages.
But Dalot said the win against Brentford showed the fighting spirit of the squad, and insisted that United can use the result as a springboard for the rest of the season.
“It shows that we are here to fight, to suffer together,” the Portuguese full-back said. “I think the fans were behind us every step today and I think this can be a turning point and we want to look at this as a turning point. We know it will be difficult but that’s what it’s like being a Manchester United player and I think today was good proof that we can fight to the end.”
After McTominay struck the winner, Old Trafford erupted. However, earlier at halftime, with United again trailing, Dalot said the mood had been very different but controlled.
“We kept calm and we listened to what the manager said, trying to change a few things, to find more spaces on the full backs and trying to switch the game," Dalot said. "They [Brentford] were really tired at the end and that shows we kept them running in their own half and when it’s like that, it’s really difficult to get to the end of a game without being tired.
"We kept fighting and then when Scott [McTominay] came in with the energy and mentality he has, it shows we are a proper team and I am really happy for him. When you win a game like this you get to the dressing room excited and you can look at everybody you could see that they gave everything.”
McTominay came on the pitch in the 87th minute and only had four touches of the ball, two of them goals.
Man United v Brentford player ratings
“Since I arrived I look to Scott and I see a lot of myself in him because he is a player you can always count on if he starts or is on the bench for a few games,” Dalot said. “He always comes in and gives his best for the team and he is a fantastic player. He could have played easy every weekend with us and he shows that, not just Scott but everyone who stepped on the pitch showed that they want to have an important role in the team and games like this.”
McTominay could have left in the close season, with reported interest from West Ham, but no club met United’s valuation.
“I think if you are a Manchester United fan you know that Scott will always love the club and will always fight for his place,” said Dalot. “I don’t know what was in his head [in the summer] but I am sure that once he decided he has to stay he gave 100 per cent and now we have to help him to get along every day with us and be with us as a team.”
The victory ended a difficult week for United, following a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League last Saturday and a 3-2 loss to Galatasaray in the Champions League – both at Old Trafford.
“We did a lot of things together [this week],” said Dalot. “Everyone got together and was focused on what we had to do. Tactically we always do that. But especially coming into the game feeling that we had to be a proper team. We controlled the game, created chances, we could have scored goals. The most important thing for me was that we fought until the end and that the fans are with us, they have been all the way, and we have to continue like this.”
Brentford, like Crystal Palace last weekend, went ahead and defended their lead from deep. It was a tactic that looked to have once again worked until McTominay's late heroics.
“It’s difficult because they are teams which defend very well,” said Dalot. “Brentford is a team that defends with five at the back and big centre-backs. All that they want is that you cross balls and that is their game.
"When they have a set piece they put balls in the box and this is the type of game where we cannot concede first. We have to control the game and the spaces will open up. But when things don’t go as you expect, you have to find ways to win and I think we found a way to win today.”
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MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
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4,872 matches
1,942 teams
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76 nations
26 UAE teams
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Name: Colm McLoughlin
Country: Galway, Ireland
Job: Executive vice chairman and chief executive of Dubai Duty Free
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
