Manchester United beat PAOK Athens 2-0 in a Europa League match at Old Trafford back on Thursday, November 7. They then beat Leicester City 3-0 in a Premier League match. United thus won three out of their four matches under interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy. Still, Manchester United improvement is imperative.
Amad Diallo started for the Red Devils after having made appearances as a substitute in six consecutive matches, scored a brace to win the match for his team against PAOK Athens. Manchester United seems to have been playing much better since Erik ten Hag was sacked as its manager.
Diallo has staked a claim to start for Manchester United
United dropped Marcus Rashford to the bench for the match against PAOK. Amad started on the right flank and Alejandro Garnacho on the left. The Red Devils have been playing with a couple of left wingers in their team for quite some time now.
Both Rashford and Garnacho prefer to play on the left flank, but the latter has been forced to play on the right in few matches this season. Hence, if one takes Amad into the equation, one has three players vying for two spots in United’s attack.
Another solution for Manchester United could be to start Rashford as the centre-forward instead of Rasmus Højlund, who has scored only a couple of goals in 11 matches so far this season. Dropping Hojlund will dent the Danish striker’s confidence somewhat, but that seems to be the convenient option for United at the moment. Rashford prefers to play on the left, but, given the current scenario, might have to start as the centre-forward to allow Amad to start.
Rashford and Garnacho have scored four and six goals, respectively, for their club this season so far. Hence, it might not be a judicious move to bench either of them. Garnacho has probably been slightly more effective on the left than Rashford and hence, probably deserves to be United’s first-choice left winger. He started against Leicester and should probably continue to start on the right flank for Manchester United in the upcoming matches.
The goals have not been easy to come by for the Red Devils. Hence, they should try to make the maximum use of the resources available to them. According to Ruud Van Nilsterooy, starting Amad will be a right step in that direction.
The Red Devils are likely to have a smooth run for the rest of November
United will face Ipswich Town and Everton in its next two Premier League matches this month. The Red Devils will then take on longtime rival Arsenal in the first week of December, which should prove to be a stern test for them.
Rúben Amorim will take charge of Manchester United before the match against Ipswich. During the international break, the Portuguese manager will get some time to look into the alternatives available to him while selecting his playing XI.
It remains to be seen whether Amorim decides to give Amad a start in the first few matches after taking charge. The 22-year-old winger from Ivory Coast has probably done enough to stake his claim for the same.