Diogo Dalot handed Manchester United the lead against West Ham in the Premier League but it wasn't a lead they were able to preserve.
Dalot scored against West Ham
Dalot scored against West Ham
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Diogo Dalot believes Manchester United became "anxious" once they had found a breakthrough against West Ham and has stressed the team cannot afford to be throwing away points when they are leading at Old Trafford. United looked set for a frustrating evening as they continued to struggle in front of goal, but Dalot's strike just before the hour mark handed them the lead.
The goal looked set to hand Ruben Amorim back-to-back Premier League wins following Sunday's victory over Crystal Palace, but United switched off and Soungoutou Magassa earned his side a late point. The draw meant United once again missed out on the opportunity to move into what will likely be a Champions League spot.
Dalot couldn't hide his frustration when speaking to Sky Sports after the game and he bemoaned the team's inability to carry on playing as they had been having found the opening goal of the game.
“Disappointed. We need to control much more of the game, especially at Old Trafford," he said. "We cannot get as anxious as we got after the goal. We were maybe more sloppy with the ball possession, so obviously disappointed with the draw. We had the game there.”
Dalot was asked why he feels United are struggling to find consistency this season, saying: “It’s exactly that solution we have to find. It can be various things. It shouldn’t be like this because we’re fighting 60 minutes to score a goal, when it happens you should keep doing the same things; even more control, longer possession so we can have more dominance, especially when we lose the ball so we are in good positions to recover it back.
"Especially the goal, the play that goes to the corner we concede, that’s the kind of thing we need to avoid, especially against teams that are good on the counter like we knew they would be today. Unfortunately we couldn’t hold the result but we need to look at ourselves. It’s more our fault than credit to West Ham.
“This type of result just gives you something to look at. We cannot be winning at home with 30 minutes to go and not winning the game.”
On the importance of picking up good results over the hectic festive period, Dalot added: “It’s massive. We are in the time of year when you cannot drop too many points or the distance to the top will be even higher.
"The distances are short this season but it will get to a time where everybody is going to start spreading and we want to be there in the top four or top five, and that’s the aim. We have to be there. Today we had a good chance and I think that’s why the disappointment is bigger.”