Amad moment has already shown Ruben Amorim why Manchester United won’t miss Marcus Rashford
As Manchester United played Tottenham Hotspur last night, once again with a starting XI without Marcus Rashford, it was Amad Diallo who was the star of the show - despite their 4-3 defeat in North London.
Amad came on in the 55th minute, with United 3-0 down, with a clear intention of clawing back some goals for his side. So when Spurs dawdled with a free kick in their own half it left Amad the perfect opportunity to chase it down and win the ball once again - dazzling the fans with a slide tackle goal to reduce the arrears to 3-2.
Once Alejandro Garnacho was subbed on in the 70th minute the two wingers impressed. Amad is not only filling the space Rashford used to dominate on the pitch, but filling his shoes in the squad. The 22-year-old didn’t even start but took every opportunity to try and fight back, ultimately United lost but his relentless pressing had the Spurs on the ropes - proving he is an integral part of the squad.
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The younger player’s effort on and off the pitch only compliments his performance on match days, but the same can’t be said about Rashford as of late. As Roy Keane reflected on the Stick To Football podcast: “Marcus seems to have lost his way, and he’s lost his hunger.”.
The Ivorian comes onto the pitch every match with the confidence United need to drive the ball into the net, something that Rashford also used to display.
When Amad slid in to score it was a perfect reflection on why he’s in the team and doing very well at the moment, and Rashford is not. Amad is continually showing off a high work rate when he plays, for example when the United faced Bodo/Glimt and Amad won the ball back which led to the goal.
His pressing has purpose whereas in the past Rashford’s hasn’t been as effective, and it was largely because of Amad’s talent that United won Amorim’s first home game in charge 3-2.
The Reds’ match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last night means they missed out on a place in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup, but they fought back to end on a 4-3 loss.
Despite the result and the United goals coming from Spurs mistakes, United’s high press from fresh legs off the bench in the second half gave the home side something to worry about.
