We can't play 40 games a season — Man United star sets their target for the season

Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot emphasised the club's ambition to reach the Champions League, stating that they cannot be satisfied with 40 games a season.

The Red Devils climbed into third place over the weekend by beating Crystal Palace and capitalising on another Aston Villa slip-up. 

With qualification for the Champions League increasingly likely, Dalot discussed their keenness to return to the competition and the seriousness with which they hope to approach it.

Dalot admitted that playing a maximum of 40 games in a season is not ideal for a club like Manchester United, insisting that their goal must be to go as far as possible in all major competitions.

"I think seasons like this are good for you to know that when you're playing Europa League and especially Champions League, those are the best years, those are the best seasons,” he said, per Goal. 

“This year we play, I don't know, maximum 40 games because we came out of the cups even in the early stage, so this is nowhere near what the club should be and the competitions that we should play in.

"So when we are there, when we get the main goal that I really believe that we're going to do next season, if we're playing Champions League, we cannot take for granted. We need to put the club back in there."

Dalot is aware that they must improve to achieve qualification for Europe, noting that they myst control games better.

"We are very conscious that for us to be able to do that, we have to do games like today, where you don't control for 90 minutes, where sometimes you don't play like you should, but you find ways to win.”

“And I think that's what defines sometimes those who stay at the top of the table and those who start dropping points and dropping places. We've been there, so I think this season, if we want to get to the end of the season and have the goal that we want, we need games like this."