Man Utd defender Diogo Dalot has played an important role in Michael Carrick's success over the last five months.
Diogo Dalot has been important for United again.(Image: 2026 Manchester United FC)
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It's not fashionable for Manchester United supporters to praise Diogo Dalot, but the truth is the team is better with him in it. Dalot copped flak in the first half of the season, but he has improved since playing at right-back again.
Although there's no denying that criticism of some of Dalot's performances was warranted, the context was important: he was asked to operate at left wing-back, a position that did not play to his strengths.
Dalot briefly lost his starting role in the team in November before coming back into the side, however, he did not begin to rediscover his best form until Michael Carrick was appointed in January.
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Carrick switched formation as one of his first acts as interim head coach. Kobbie Mainoo has been the biggest winner from Carrick's appointment, but Dalot isn't too far behind as a result of the tactical change.
Dalot has looked much more comfortable at right-back. He is versatile and can play on the other side of a back four, but asking him to play as a left-wing back, rather than at left-back, ultimately puts a ceiling on his performances.
It says a lot about Dalot's character that he continued to front up to the media during a challenging period. “You have to come to Carrington every single day trying to give your best to match the standards that the club should have," he said after the win against Arsenal in January.
"Then what we do on the pitch will be a consequence of what we do every day. Sometimes it might work, sometimes it might not work. But you can see that when everything is tuned in, when everybody has the same energy, when we all want the same thing, we can win it. And I really believe in that.
"I always try to give that message to everybody. Being here for a long time gives me even more responsibility in these moments. And that's the biggest thing for me. As long as I wear this shirt, I will not hide myself, I will not play the victim.
"We just have to come to the pitch, give everything for the club and all together we can have moments like this and hopefully we can start a very good run of games.”
Dalot is a leader in the dressing room. He was named in the six-man leadership group when it was formed last summer, and the role he takes in supporting academy players at Carrington goes under the radar.
United academy defender Yuel Helafu recently explained: "I like to watch sessions and games back and try to be critical of myself and where I can improve. I think [Diogo] Dalot and [Noussair] Mazraoui obviously are the main ones for me because they're top, top right-backs."
Dalot is now the second-longest serving player at United and takes his leadership role seriously. "I think he's genuinely so good and he's a great leader as well," said Helafu of the Portugal international.
"I remember there was one session and I was in front of him and he was just talking me through the whole session, just making sure I’m pressing in the right way getting up to the ball, keeping the ball, everything."
Dalot is not always the flavour of the month among supporters, but he is consistent and practically always available, having missed just two Premier League games this season due to a muscle injury sustained in September.
Carrick left Dalot out of the squad on the final day of the season against Brighton, but the defender still travelled down with the team to the Amex Stadium because he wanted to support his teammates.
Dalot was spotted having a chat with academy winger Shea Lacey before the game. Dalot recently shared a picture of himself and Lacey preparing for training at Carrington, captioned: "My kid."
That's another young player who Dalot has taken under his wing this season.