DIOGO DALOT says Manchester United must win ugly if they want to finish inside the Champions League places this season.
The full-back was one of several players who endured a difficult first-half before United mounted a comeback after Maxence Lacroix’s red card.
Michael Carrick remains unbeaten in nine games since replacing Ruben Amorim in January and has pushed United up to third in the table for the first time since May 2023.
But the Red Devils played their worst half an hour of football under Carrick in the first-half against Oliver Glasner’s side.
Most of the team were off the boil, with Palace faster and stronger in almost every area until Bruno Fernandes started to up his game.
Lacroix’s sending off for denying Matheus Cunha a goalscoring opportunity turned the game on its head as Fernandes scored the resulting penalty and set up Benjamin Sesko’s winner.
But Dalot insists that reaching the Champions League requires teams to grind out victories even on their off days.
The 26-year-old said: “Champions League is the goal. We are very conscious that for us to be able to do that, we have to have games like today, where you don’t control [the] 90 minutes.
“Where sometimes you don’t play like you should, but you find ways to win.
“And that’s what defines those who stay at the top of the table and those who start dropping points and dropping places.
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“We’ve been there, so if we want to [reach our goal] we need games like this.”
While Sunday’s vital win helped United overtake Aston Villa, it masked another stuttering performance, extending a sluggish pattern that began at West Ham and bled into the clash with Everton.
But, ultimately, it is the results that matter. Even league leaders Arsenal are relying on ugly wins through WWE corner routines to grind out those all important three points in tight games.
Meanwhile, Dalot was also quizzed on Harry Maguire‘s future after the England defender put in another stellar performance before coming off ill.
The Portugal international said: “[Harry’s] been showing during his career how strong he is mentally and physically.
“When he is in a good state of mind, and when he’s good physically with a good run of games I think is one of the best center backs in the league.
“So I’m pretty sure that if he shows a good level, if it helps the team, it will be no problem for the club to keep him, but it’s not my decision.
“Ultimately it will be between them. But we’re very happy with him.”
Carrick has the joint-best points return after nine Premier League games of any manager in the competition’s history, including his caretaker spell in 2021.
Only Ange Postecoglou‘s 23 points in nine games at the start of his tenure at Spurs matches Carrick.
The 44-year-old, who travels to Newcastle on Wednesday night, is only three games off equalling Maurizio Sarri‘s record for the longest unbeaten start, too.
