'Exceptional': BBC pundit wowed by 'brilliant' performance of Man United player who won nine duels v PAOK tonight
Yesterday at 05:00 PM
Manchester United ran out 2-0 winners over PAOK in their Europa League encounter at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.
The Red Devils struggled to break the visitors down in the first half, but Amad Diallo went on to score a second-half brace to give his side the win.
Neither side could get a goal in the first half, though PAOK threatened and could have well opened the scoring against Manchester United.
Mady Camara and Andrija Zivkovic both went close for the visitors, with Andre Onana making a fine save to deny the former.
Man United then took the lead in the 50th minute as Bruno Fernandes crossed for Diallo to guide a header back across goal and in off the far post.
Then, in the 77th minute, Diallo gave the Red Devils some much-needed breathing space with his second of the night.
He dispossessed Baba Rahman, shrugged off his man, drove towards the box, cut inside onto his left foot and curled a superb effort into the bottom left corner.
Izzy Christiansen loved what she saw from Diallo and sung his praises on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Izzy Christiansen hails Amad Diallo’s ‘exceptional individual performance’ for Man United v PAOK
Christiansen described Diallo’s second goal as a “brilliant strike” which caps off a wonderful individual display from the Man United gem.
“Amad Diallo cuts inside on to his left foot, it is a brilliant strike,” said Christiansen. “It caps off what has been an exceptional individual performance from him.”
The Ivory Coast international came off to a standing ovation in the 81st minute after receiving treatment to his left ankle, with Mason Mount taking his place.
Amad Diallo stats v PAOK
As well as scoring two goals against the Greek outfit, Diallo registered another shot on target, saw two shots blocked, and also made one key pass in the game.
The 22-year-old also completed two dribbles, won six ground duels and three aerial duels, and chipped in with three tackles, as per Sofascore, who gave him a rating of 9.0 out of 10.
Man United have one more game before the November international break as they host Leicester City in a Premier League fixture on Sunday.