Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot has explained that his screamer – which secured all three points for his side against Sheffield United – was instinctive and he momentarily thought it would be saved by Wes Foderingham.
United beat the Blades by two goals to one.
Scott McTominay opened the scoring, but the Red Devils lost their lead just six minutes later when Oli McBurnie converted his penalty.
Dalot came up with a moment of brilliance in the second half when he fired a ferocious shot that flew into the back of the net from outside the box.
The defender spoke to MUTV after the final whistle and opened up on the thinking process that went into his goal.
Dalot said, “I could see the ‘keeper’s hand getting close, so I thought he might save it, but when the ball goes in, the feeling of seeing the fans behind the goal celebrating, I think it was a fantastic moment.”
The Portugal international paid tribute to United legend Sir Bobby Charlton, whose passing was confirmed by his family just hours before the clash at Bramall Lane.
Dalot explained that he and his teammates were motivated to win in memory of Sir Bobby.
“I take this opportunity to dedicate this win to Sir Bobby and his family. It was a very sad day for the club, but I think we contributed the best we could, which was to win the game and secure three points.”
“I think in these moments, when everything seems to be said, we have to find a way to see happiness and I hope with this win today, we could give some joy to the family.”
The 24-year-old said he enjoyed the atmosphere at Sheffield United’s home, and indicated that the match was a “proper English game.”
Dalot pointed out that the aim of the team is to win at all costs, even when things don’t go according to plan.
“I think this is how fans love to see games here in England and we have to find a way to win when we don’t play good football. Sometimes we are not right tactically and in the first half, we took longer than we should have to set up.”
He added, “When we came to half-time, the manager told us what to do and we did it better in the second half. This is what brings us confidence, is winning games at this club. This is the standard. We need the three points no matter what on Tuesday [Copenhagen] and I hope the fans, like always, will be there with us.”