ETIHAD — Whatever has happened, Ruben Amorim felt compelled to make a statement by leaving Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford out of the squad for a Manchester derby clash.
He had his reasons, but it looked to have cost his side their best chance of a result at the Etihad, as Manchester United longed for some element of threat as they trailed in the second half.
Then along came Amad Diallo, showing Garnacho and Rashford what it takes to be a success in this high intensity, high press Amorim team.
If Garnacho and Rashford were left to follow the game on Twitch in the plush Cheshire mansions as a result of behaviour not befitting a professional footballer, then Amad and the manner of his two goals gives Amorim the ultimate justification for such a bold, bold call.
As a spectacle, the 195th Manchester derby will not live long in the memory, with the team announcement the most exhilarating moment until Amad’s intervention left the Etihad aghast.
While United were the better team for large swatches of the encounter, they lacked a cutting edge, with Amad’s sashaying runs their only outlet.
Rasmus Hojlund was so tightly marked by Ruben Dias the pair were almost joined at the hip, while Bruno Fernandes struggled to impact the game after an early positional change due to Mason Mount’s withdrawal through injury disrupting his flow.
The visitors were able to remain within touching distance of the champions due to a continued lack of energy.
Quite how the Premier League’s most dominant team in history has become so mediocre requires a Catalan inquisition of epic proportions.
But United still needed life. Fortunately for Amorim, his go-to cavalryman came to the rescue once more.
While, as Amorim himself forewarned as soon as he walked through the door, there has been little for United fans to get excited about in the first month of his tenure, Amad’s vibrancy has been the highlight.
Amorim insists on a high press from his players, with the new boss pulling his hair out every 10 minutes or so as sluggish forwards fail to adhere to his principles.
Amad has been the exception. No cause has been deemed lost enough for the Ivorian to chase down – no wonder he is very much Amorim’s golden boy.
Against Everton in Amorim’s first home league game in charge, two of United’s four goals came as a direct result of Amad forcing errors from defenders. Unheard of around these parts.
Even from wing-back, Amad has remained Amorim’s greatest threat, an attacker in his mould. Rashford has enjoyed a minor resurgence in the goalscoring charts, while Garnacho looks threatening every time he gets the ball, but both, regardless of their off-field issues, are two very dispensable figures in Amorim’s eyes. The Portuguese is wedded to the collective over the individual more than most, with neither Garnacho or Rashford really keen to be part of any co-operative.
All too often, Garnacho cuts inside and goes for goal, at the expense of a better option either side of him. Rashford looks ready to rekindle the fire one week, back to his disinterested, petulant self the next. Amorim, it seems, won’t stand for either.
Amad is the antithesis of both. The pass from Matheus Nunes two minutes from time was short, but had it been Rashford faced with the faint prospect of getting there before Ederson, City would be looking at a rejuvenating victory right now.
Instead, a penalty won out of nothing, converted by Fernandes, and a winner that again Amad had no right to get ahead of Ederson showed just what it takes to be a success under a manager who will not stand for anything less than top effort. In all elements of his players’ lives.
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