
Manchester United
Premier League • England
‘Bright spark’ Amad saves ‘horrendous’ Man Utd as team-mate ‘smashed to smithereens’

Amad Diallo rescued Man Utd against Southampton
Amad Diallo notched a 12-minute hat-trick as Manchester United came from behind to beat Southampton 3-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
The tone for the match was set in the 12th minute when Southampton’s electric winger Kamaldeen Sulemana breezed past Leny Yoro before forcing a smart save from Man Utd goalkeeper Andre Onana. Sulemana caused Yoro and United all sorts of problems and was unlucky to be on the losing side.
Alejandro Garnacho missed a big chance before Onana pulled off a fantastic double save to deny Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes, as Southampton controlled the game and push for the opening goal.
That opener came just before half time when Dibling flicked on a corner which went in off Manuel Ugarte’s back. The goal broke an unwanted record for United, as they became the first team to concede a goal from a Southampton corner in the Premier League this season.
Ruben Amorim replaced the likes of Kobbie Mainoo, Rasmus Hojlund and Ugarte, with second-half substitute Joshua Zirkzee impressing.
Antony was guilty of a terrible miss in the 59th minute, but both he and United were saved by Amad. The winger smashed in United’s equaliser past Aaron Ramsdale before giving them the lead with a cushioned volley.
A big mistake from Taylor Harwood-Bellis in injury time allowed Amad to finish into an open net and complete his hat-trick, as United enjoyed a lucky escape.
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Antony error ‘unbelievable; Yoro ‘smashed’
Ally McCoist was left stunned by United’s performance on commentary, calling it ‘horrendous’ as the players were ‘miles off it’.
McCoist said Yoro was ‘smashed to smithereens’ by Sulemana, while Antony’s miss was ‘absolutely unbelievable’.
On TNT Sports’ coverage of the match, United legend Paul Scholes was asked if some belief had been restored by Amad’s heroics. He replied: “No, not really. For 80 minutes, that’s as bad a performance as you’ll see, especially against a team bottom of the league.
“I have to give Southampton credit. They were so much better than United for 75-80 minutes, the way they passed the ball, technically, tactically.
“That’s probably why they are bottom of the league, they can’t put teams away.
“For United, Amad was the one bright spark. I still think the manager will be bitterly disappointed with that performance.
“Against a team who really have struggled to score goals, concede goals all the time…
“Diallo has come and produced the win for them. He’s the only player for me who can take credit out of this game today.”
Man Utd transfers: Rashford latest; shock Liverpool claim
Meanwhile, reports claim Sir Jim Ratcliffe has told Marcus Rashford he cannot join a Premier League rival such as Tottenham Hotspur or West Ham.
Ratcliffe is prepared to pay a portion of Rashford’s wages to aid his move away from Old Trafford this month.
The forward is thought to be holding out for a Barcelona switch despite AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund entering talks for him.
Spanish outlet Fichajes have ambitiously stated that United are keen on Liverpool centre-forward Darwin Nunez.
TEAMtalk understands Liverpool are open to suitable offers for Nunez as he has failed to live up to his major price tag, though rumours of United’s interest are wide of the mark.
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