As during the Manchester derby in December, Amad Diallo played the hero on Thursday by scoring a hat-trick in 12 minutes to give victory to his team (3-1) which was still led by Southampton in the 82nd minute.
Amad Diallo (22 years old) has once again turned into a savior. The young Ivorian striker scored a hat-trick in 12 minutes on Thursday to offer a valuable victory to Manchester United (3-1), led by Southampton until the 82nd minute. The former Atalanta Bergamo player had already struck hard in December by offering a success to the Red Devils in the last minute of the derby against Manchester City (1-2). Thursday, the evening started very badly for Ruben Amorim’s men against the bottom of the Premier League.
Big failures from Garnacho and Antony
The “Red Devils” displayed a worrying appearance for more than an hour, between feverish defense, disorganization, lack of fighting spirit and incredible failures, like those of Alejandro Garnacho (20th) and Antony (59th). They even reached half-time under the whistles of Old Trafford, trailing 1-0 after a corner catapulted into his own goal by Manuel Ugarte (43rd, 0-1). Fortunately for them, in Amad Diallo they have pure talent capable of remobilizing the troops, at the age of 22.
The Ivorian winger swept Southampton with a supersonic hat-trick in twelve minutes (82nd, 90th, 90th+4), at the same time as he swept some of his team’s worries under the rug. Without André Onana’s saves, Manchester United might have suffered a different fate. The Cameroonian goalkeeper was caught several times and he had to make two high-level saves in quick succession in the 28th minute to avoid the worst.
A defeat against the promoted side, only one victory on the clock this season, with the worst attack in the Premier League (13 goals scored), would have done more than bad for Ruben Amorim and his men. In the end, they left the Old Trafford pitch with a big smile and a first victory in five league matches (three defeats and a draw). The Mancunians’ long poor performance will not reassure their Portuguese coach, already annoyed by the variable motivation of his players: good against the big names, fearful against the little ones.
“This might be one of the best weeks of my life,” Amad Diallo told TNT Sports. “I’m very happy with this victory. This team deserved to win this game, so I’m very happy.”
