Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has now reacted to the strong position that some Manchester United fans have taken on Portugal defender Diogo Dalot.
Diogo Dalot has faced major criticism from Manchester United fans for his performances in the 2025-26 Premier League campaign at Old Trafford.
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The 26-year-old Portuguese defender had been a regular starter under Ruben Amorim and the former United manager had converted him into a wing-back for his system.
However, Dalot had even found himself playing on the left flank in an inverted wing-back role under Ruben Amorim compared with his preferred right-sided role.
Despite the criticism around the Man Utd defender, the Portugal international has remained a key first-team player for interim head coach Michael Carrick.
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Diogo Dalot during the Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester United at the Emirates Stadium in 2026 in London, England.
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Gary Neville compares Diogo Dalot with a Man Utd legend after the Red Devils’ 3-2 result against Arsenal
Diogo Dalot has returned to his natural right-sided role for Manchester United after Michael Carrick immediately pivoted away from Ruben Amorim’s tactical system.
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The Red Devils full-back started and played the full 90 minutes against Manchester City at Old Trafford and Arsenal at the Emirates in the back-to-back wins.
Speaking after Man Utd’s 3-2 win over Arsenal, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville even compared Dalot with himself amid his defence of the Portugal and Red Devils star.
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“Another player I want to mention actually is Dalot,” he said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
“He gets a really harsh view at times [from] quite a few United fans. I do think there’s a half-decent full-back in there, and I watch full-backs so closely.
“I think he’s actually good in the air. I think he’s got good athleticism about him.
“I think he’s decent on the ball. I don’t think he’s a world-class full-back, but neither was I.”
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Gary Neville’s powerful defence of Man Utd and Portugal right-back Diogo Dalot amid the criticism against him
Dalot has featured in 23 matches across all competitions in the 2025-26 campaign and the former Porto defender has netted once and registered two assists so far.
Neville insisted that the Man Utd star stands out to him for the consistent level of performances that he will put in for the Red Devils week in, week out on the pitch.
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“I think he’s got something about him,” he added.
“I think he’s got 7/10[s] in him every single week, Dalot, but because we’ve seen him at left wing-back, we’ve seen him at right wing-back, we’ve seen him exposed so many times.
“I think if he just played right full-back and played there all the time, I wouldn’t be getting rid of him in a hurry.
“Now, other people might disagree with me, but I think I know the position of full-back, and I think he could do a decent job for Manchester United.”
Man Utd’s sensational 3-2 win over Arsenal on Sunday has moved the Red Devils to fourth place in the Premier League table ahead of the Fulham match at Old Trafford.
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