Dalot credits 'nothing to lose' mentality as 10-man United stun Roma in Champions League comeback

Matheus Cunha scored twice in the final 10 minutes as Manchester United overturned a two-goal deficit to beat Roma 3-2 at Old Trafford on Tuesday in the Champions League, handing manager Michael Carrick a timely reprieve under mounting pressure.

Roma had taken control of the match with two goals in seven minutes before Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty to give United a lifeline before the hour mark. The Italians appeared to have weathered the storm, but Cunha’s late double completed a stirring turnaround that lifted the mood inside Old Trafford.

Defender Diogo Dalot pointed to a liberating shift in mindset as the key to the fightback. “If you analyse it really cold, we had nothing more to lose,” Dalot told journalists after the game. “That’s the unfortunate situation that we are in, so we just had to really go at it.”

Dalot described how the energy inside the stadium became a decisive factor once United began winning their individual battles. “Once you create that energy inside the stadium like this, it’s really tough for the opponents to create even a chance,” he said. “When we play like this, when you have the right attitude, when the fans really believe that we are there, we can be a very strong team.”

The Portugal international also revealed the message delivered at half-time, identifying a tendency to drop their heads at the first sign of adversity as a problem the squad must address. “The key message from us is like we’re getting disappointed too quick,” he said. “Every moment in the game where it doesn’t go the way that we want, it’s like we let ourselves down a little bit. That’s the momentum that we need to change.”

Dalot credited the impact of substitute Shea Lacey, who came on with 15 minutes remaining and helped shift the game’s momentum. “They were just amazing,” he said of the players introduced from the bench. “They came on with the right attitude and the right energy. That’s the job of everyone that comes into the game to change the energy, and I think that’s when you’re building a good squad.”

The victory offers Carrick breathing space, but Dalot’s candid assessment of United’s fragility suggests the underlying issues remain very much a work in progress.