TeamViewer Trending: Andiamo, Amad!

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Wednesday 13 November 2024 13:20

Since joining Manchester United in 2021, it’s fair to say that Amad’s career has been a slow-burning one, punctuated by the odd moment of nirvanic ecstasy.

He scored on his Old Trafford debut with a quietly remarkable backwards header against AC Milan, but made just eight appearances during the 2020/21 season.

Last term, he netted arguably the most joyous goal scored by a United player in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, felling Liverpool in the 121st minute of an FA Cup tie that had the epic scope of a Greek myth. But he played no part in the magnificent conclusion to that campaign – May’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Wembley.

Even this season, he started the first three games (scoring away to Brighton), and was voted our Player of the Month, before fading from the starting XI over the following weeks. Until now.

After six successive matches on the substitutes’ bench, a Man-of-the-Match showing against PAOK represented another signpost moment in a nascent career that has always flickered with huge promise.

The Reds’ 2-0 win over the champions of Greece might not linger long in the memory – interim head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy admitted our performance was strewn with “many technical mistakes”. But, if it’s remembered for anything, it will be the performance of the 22-year-old Ivorian.

Amad followed that showing with an assist for Bruno Fernandes against Leicester, a delicious backheel, suggesting his momentum is building once again – and at a crucial time.

90 in 20: United v PAOK Video

90 in 20: United v PAOK90 in 20 | Enjoy Amad’s two goals among the moments that matter from our first competitive meeting with PAOK…

Stand-out moment

Goals win games, and they also tend to overwhelmingly influence Man of the Match polls on ManUtd.com. Amad hoovered up a near-totalitarian 93 per cent of the votes when we consulted fans via our club website and the United app, with Bruno Fernandes – who assisted Amad’s first goal – miles behind in second place.

That opener was an unusual one, and probably reminded some older fans of Darren Fletcher’s looping header against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea, 19 years ago this month. But Amad’s second was undoubtedly the highpoint of the match, from a United perspective.

The finish – a beautiful left-footed drive that found the bottom corner of the PAOK goal – was delicious enough, but what really excited the crowd inside Old Trafford was the endeavour our no.16 showed to turn a mis-placed, crossfield Christian Eriksen pass into a goalscoring opportunity.

Amad hounded Baba Rahman with the kind of competitive zeal that would have pleased the most famous wearer of his United shirt number, and it wasn’t the only time in the game his pressing and hard running had the crowd roaring its approval.

If United can coordinate a collective press with that much snap and snarl, nobody will enjoy coming to M16.

Performance insight

Amad has created more chances than any other United winger this season (19), across all competitions, and the PAOK performance was not the first sighting of his prodigious gifts.

He created six chances against Southampton back in September but, as noted above, it’s his willingness and enthusiasm off the ball that suggests the Ivorian is finding a way to knit together different aspects of his game into one package. There were a few moments when the playmaker didn’t quite link fluently with Bruno Fernandes during the first half but, with a run of games, it’s hoped that he and his team-mates will more regularly meet on the same wavelength.

Evidence of a blossoming relationship was perhaps on show during the 3-0 win over Leicester, when Amad assisted Bruno’s superb opening goal.

Ruben Amorim arrived in Manchester on Monday and, with the Portuguese reported to favour a 3-4-2-1 system which offers space for two no.10s, or inside-forwards, Amad’s dribbling and passing might leave him well placed to earn opportunities.

He has already scored more goals (3), and made more appearances (16), than in any of his other United seasons to date. And it’s still only November.

Amad said

“I’m happy to be here, happy to play for this club and yes, I want to stay here for a long time and make history here,” Amad told the media, post-match.

“I always do my best, even when I am not starting. Everyone wants to play but I just try to stay focused. I was player of the month in August but now I have moved on and am focused on the future.”

They said

“He made a difference for us today because of his goals,” Ruud van Nistelrooy told TNT Sports afterwards. “But he was very sharp. I think, in the first half, he was one of the few who was at his level. Well done to him, good game.”

The Dutchman went on to identify Amad’s aptitude within training sessions as the key to his on-field success, describing the youngster as an example to the rest of the squad in terms of his attitude.

“He has been incredible, actually, in training. He was never affected by not playing. He always trains well and is asking me to do more. That’s an example.”

what an amazing week,

thanks for the support 🫶🏾

See you soon RED ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/Wvk9E55EzG

— Amad (@Amaddiallo_19) November 11, 2024Did you know?

Amad’s two strikes last Thursday took him to six career goals for United – one beyond Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo’s tally of five.

That means Amad is now the second most prolific African to play for the club, behind only defender-cum-midfielder Quinton Fortune (11), who played 126 times for the Reds between 1999-2006.

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Wednesday 13 November 2024 13:20