A hat-trick from Amad Diallo in the final eight minutes of Thursday's visit of Southampton gave Manchester United a narrowly deserved 3-1 victory.
The Saints had only been able to manage a single goal during their previous six Premier League games but had the chance to score twice or maybe three times before taking a deserved lead in the 43rd minute.
After Andre Onana denied Kamaldeen Sulemana, Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling, unitedHis goalkeeper was beaten by his own player. Manuel Ugarte unwittingly deflected a first-half corner past his teammate. After suffering from headers, volleys and direct shots, United had now added own goals to their growing repertoire of shooting ineptitude.
“We've scored a goal” was the ironic cry that came out SouthamptonClosing as a guest at the end of the first half.
The traveling fans should have had a lot more to cheer about, but a combination of Onana's heroics and the familiar failings of their forward line ensured their lead remained just a precarious goal into the final ten minutes.
Amad, United's lifelong savior this season, took center stage. Capitalizing on a lucky bounce, the in-form winger fired an equalizer under Aaron Ramsdale. The clock had ticked into the final minute of normal time when Amad picked up the ball again, the mischievous one-two with Christian Eriksen to volley the hosts ahead.
The 22-year-old completed a comeback to savor in stoppage time, pouncing on a poor touch from Taylor Harwood-Bellis to make it 3-1.
|
Player |
ASSESSMENT |
|---|---|
|
GC: Andrew Onan |
7.8/10 |
|
CB: Lenny Yoro |
7.0/10 |
|
CB: Matthijs de Ligt |
7.7/10 |
|
CB: Lisandro Martinez |
6.8/10 |
|
RWB: Amad Diallo |
9.7/10 |
|
CM: Manuel Ugarte |
6.1/10 |
|
CM: Kobbie Mainoo |
6.0/10 |
|
LWB: Noussair Mazraoui |
8.0/10 |
|
RF: Alejandro Garnacho |
7.8/10 |
|
ST: Rasmus Hojlund |
6.2/10 |
|
LF: Bruno Fernandes |
7.5/10 |
|
UNDER: Antony (46' for Mainoo) |
6.7/10 |
|
UNDER: Joshua Zirkzee (53' for Hojlund) |
6.5/10 |
|
UNDER: Toby Collyer (54' for Ugarte) |
6.5/10 |
|
UNDER: Harry Maguire (83' for Yoro) |
N/A |
|
UNDER: Christian Eriksen (83' for Mazraoui) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Altay Bayindir (GK), Godwill Kukonki, Tyrell Malacia, Casemiro
|
Player |
ASSESSMENT |
|---|---|
|
GC: Aaron Ramsdale |
5.7/10 |
|
CB: James Bree |
6.4/10 |
|
CB: Jan Bednarek |
6.9/10 |
|
CB: Taylor Harwood-Bellis |
6.1/10 |
|
RWB: Yukinari Sugawara |
6.4/10 |
|
CM: Lesley Ugochukwu |
7.0/10 |
|
CM: Joe Wednesday |
7.4/10 |
|
LWB: Kyle Walker-Peters |
6.7/10 |
|
AM: Matthew Fernandes |
7.5/10 |
|
ST: Tyler Dibling |
6.5/10 |
|
ST: Kamaldeen Sulemana |
6.3/10 |
|
UNDER: Will Smallbone (63' for Dibling) |
5.9/10 |
|
UNDER: Flynn Downs (73' for Aribo) |
6.2/10 |
|
UNDER: Adam Armstrong (73' for Fernandes) |
5.9/10 |
|
UNDER: Nathan Wood (83' for Bednarek) |
N/A |
|
UNDER: Paul Onuachu (83' for Ugochukwu) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Alex McCarthy (GK), Ryan Manning, Adam Lallana, Cameron Archer.