Gary Neville drooled over Amad Diallo’s performance against Manchester City and suggested that the freedom with which he plays reminds him of Wayne Rooney.
Manchester United’s poor Premier League form under new boss Ruben Amorim looked set to continue as they trailed for almost an hour after Josko Gvardiol put the struggling champions ahead ten minutes before half-time.
But the away side – inspired by Diallo – completed a dramatic late turnaround to snatch a 2-1 win and pile further pressure on the defending champions.
Diallo, starting in a more advanced position after Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho were left out of the matchday squad, won the penalty which allowed Bruno Fernandes the chance to equalise from the spot.
And the Ivorian international then won the game in the 90th minute when he latched onto a long ball from Lisandro Martinez before rounding Ederson and finishing superbly into the far corner.
The 22-year-old has emerged as one of the bright spots in what has proved a topsy-turvy start for new boss Amorim and Neville was full of praise for the winger’s performance at the Etihad Stadium.
‘For Manchester United winning, it was just one man,’ he later said on the Gary Neville podcast.
‘There were a couple of other decent performers – I thought actually Maguire, Martinez and De Ligt did quite well as a back three, they were quite solid – but there was nothing else in front of them other than Amad Diallo.
‘I called it in the first half and he was the player we featured before the game; he’s the only player who is playing with anything like the freedom and energy, enthusiasm, tenacity and belief that represents what you would expect in a Premier League footballer playing for the club.
‘The rest of them realy are struggling confidence-wise and quality-wise. The club is struggling on and off the pitch at this moment in time. A lof of people hide behind the excuses… but he still plays football like he’s a kid.’
Praising Amad further, the former United full-back added. ‘He has never stopped thinking of football like he’s playing on the street. Wayne Rooney was the exact same.
‘They are street football players and they believe they should get it and beat men and attack men and take the ball and take risks and he did all the way through the game.
‘He set up the penalty through hard work, pressing and closing down and then obviously the winner will live with him forever. It’s a magical moment for him, it really is.
‘A draw may have been fair because it was average – woeful at times – but Amad Diallo was the one player who deserved to win the game because he was the one player on the pitch because he looked like something.’
Speaking after the game, though, Amorim was keen not to put more pressure on Amad despite his performance.
‘He can play different positions, he is very humble,’ he said. ‘But we have to be very careful with Amad because sometimes in our club we put young players in a special place. Lets stay clam with Amad.’
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