Amad the star as Man Utd get first European win of the season against PAOK
Manchester United's Amad Diallo scored a brace on the night
T-minus two for the Rúben Amorim reign arrived at Old Trafford last night but there was no repeat of the new Manchester United manager’s high-octane and memorable farewell European evening in Lisbon 48 hours earlier.
On Tuesday, Amorim masterminded Sporting’s stunning 4-1 humiliation of an admittedly depleted Manchester City side in his last home game as their manager amid delirious and adoring scenes.
Last night, ahead of starting his new role at Old Trafford on Monday, he will presumably have tuned in to watch caretaker Ruud van Nistelrooy take his penultimate game as interim boss and improve his record in charge at Old Trafford to two wins and a draw from three games.
Amad Diallo scored both goals with a virtuoso display that will doubtless have drawn an admiring glance from the incoming Amorim and begged the question why he only started four league games this season under Erik ten Hag.
But it was hard work for United to wear down the visitors on a laboured evening in which any atmosphere came from the approximately 5,000 Greek fans who kept up a relentless serenade throughout proceedings as the hosts ground out their first European win since October … of 2023.
The van Nistelrooy wins, here and against a weakened Leicester in the Carabao Cup, are hardly the sort of opponents to whom United should be losing, but given the difficulties ten Hag managed to find in overcoming even the most average of teams, this marks an improvement of sorts.
After all, this represented just United’s second win in their last 12 European games, a record which takes some doing in the modern era of expanded and diluted European tournaments.
Thus, with two games remaining until Amorim becomes United’s seventh post-Sir Alex Ferguson manager, the change cannot come quickly enough, even though van Nistelrooy has a very winnable final match in charge, at home to Leicester again, in the Premier League on Sunday.
For Amorim, meanwhile, the size of the task facing him was presumably no surprise before last night but, given events on his Lisbon farewell on Tuesday, and the 10-minute standing ovation he received from his adoring public, the Portuguese would be forgiven for scouring the small print of his fresh, new United contract this morning. Is it too late to change his mind?
That may be unkind but the mood around United is very different to Sporting and, even allowing for van Nistelrooy rotating his squad against the team currently second in the Greek League, this was a lacklustre display for most parts, particularly before the break.
There were flashes of promise from their attacking players, notably wingers Alejandro Garnacho and Diallo, but all too often key moments in the final third came to nothing via a series of poor decisions and unforced errors.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the field, defensive lapses and a lack of bite in midfield saw United exposed and the Greeks looked just as threatening, in the first half at least, from as early as the sixth minute when Andrija Zivkovic found Mady Camara and his shot took a wild deflection behind off Casemiro.
Zivkovic had two more first half sights of goal while Andre Onana did well on 38 minutes to tip over a powerful Camara volley after he had controlled a neat pass from Abdul Baba.
At least United started the second half with more verve and took the lead just five minutes in, as Bruno Fernandes swung over a deep cross to take advantage of some rare disorganisation in the PAOK defence.
Diallo peeled away from his defender at the far post and placed a looping header skilfully into the far corner of the visitors’ goal.
Zivkovic almost produced an instant response, beating Diogo Dalot to a through ball and rattling a shot into the advertising hoardings behind the goal, while Manuel Ugarte went into the book for conceding a free-kick which Stefan Schwab struck straight at Onana.
Diallo could have settled the tie, just before the hour, when he chased a through ball and was only denied by the well-positioned knee of keeper Dominik Kotarski.
And, incredibly, within minutes Tarik Tissoudali was gifted an amazing opportunity to equalise as he found himself unmarked, six yards from goal, only to stroke his effort straight at the diving Onana.
It was a costly miss and, on 77 minutes, Diallo settled matters when he robbed the dithering Baba. The United winger took the ball to the edge of the area before depositing a superb shot into the far corner.
Onana 6; Mazraoui 6, Lindelof 6, Evans 7, Dalot 5 (Martinez 65, 6); Casemiro 6, Ugarte 6 (Eriksen 65, 5); Diallo 9 (Mount 81), Fernandes 6, Garnacho 7 (Rashford 65, 5); Hojlund 6 (Zirkzee 90). Substitutes (not used) Bayindir, Heaton, de Ligt, Antony, Wheatley, Amass, Fitzgerald.
Kotarski 6; Jonny 7, Kędziorą 6, Colley 6, Baba 4; Ozdoev 6, Schwab 5 (Bakayoko 65, 5); Zivkovic 8, Camara 7 (Despodov 75, 5), Taison 6 (Shoretire 84); Tissoudali 5 (Chalov 65, 5).Substitutes (not used) Monarstirlis, Balomenos, Michailidis, Sastre, Thymianis, Brandon.
R Petrescu (Romania) 7
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