Amad Diallo played a crucial role in Manchester United’s thrilling 2-1 triumph over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium. City appeared to be on close to of overtaking Premier League leaders Liverpool after Josko Gvardiol’s header in the first half. Ilkay Gundogan deflected a corner from Kevin De Bruyne, and Gvardiol scored. However, City didn’t play properly, and Diallo punished their mistakes.
When Diallo blocked Matheus Nunes’ poor back pass, which led to a penalty after Nunes was fouled, it was evident how effective he was. Bruno Fernandes converted the penalty kick in the 88th minute to tie the score. Then, to give United the win in stoppage time, Diallo displayed his skills by intercepting a long ball from Lisandro Martinez and scored the game-winning goal.
This victory was a significant turning point for new manager Ruben Amorim as United rose to 12th place in the league standings. They are currently nine points behind the leaders and only five points behind City, who are still in fifth position. Diallo’s growing importance on the team was evident in the triumph.
Diallo has already made his impact on United’s history by scoring significant goals. He scored a historic game-winning goal against Liverpool in an FA Cup quarterfinal last season while playing for former manager Erik ten Hag. With his most recent achievement, he became just the second United player to score the game-winning goal in the 90th minute against the reigning champions since Robin van Persie’s goal against City in December 2012.
At barely 22 years and 157 days old, Diallo became one of the youngest players to score such a big goal against the reigning champs. Only Neil Mellor was younger when he achieved this feat in 2004 against Arsenal. This demonstrates Diallo’s potential to play a significant role for United in the future.