Manchester United were bailed out by a last-minute penalty to overcome a resilient Burnley side at Old Trafford – but the performance of Amad reminded fans what a superb talent they have at the club as he stepped up to help the Red Devils secure all three points this afternoon.
A Superb First Half
Amad was electric in the first half.
Deployed at right wing-back, the Ivory Coast international combined superbly with Bryan Mbeumo, who was equally excellent, with United’s best moments consistently coming from those two.
Amad almost scored a brilliant volley from a fizzed corner by Bruno Fernandes and he should have made it 2-0 after orchestrating a lightning fast counter-attack, but instead blazed over from ten yards out.
His quality on the ball was matched by relentless pressing off it – a stark contrast to the lackadaisical performance he produced on Wednesday night in the humiliating loss to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup.
A Game-Changing Moment in the Second Half
Amad was quieter in the second half with United’s performance level dropping in general.
A 1-0 lead from the first half was surrendered to a soft Burnley, only for Mbeumo to draw things level moments later. But United’s carelessness continued to plague them with Burnley again equalising after poor clearances from Luke Shaw and Altay Bayindir.
Amad grew back into the game with the 90th minute fast approaching and United desperately pushing for a goal, only to be frustrated by poor decisions or weak finishes.
But it was Amad who unlocked a dogged Burnley defence after his penetrating run into the box led Anthony, who scored Burnley’s second, to desperately pull back the 22-year-old – and VAR intervened to award a penalty.
Bruno Fernandes, the man for the big occasion, stepped up to coolly convert at the death and secure United all three points. But without Amad, there is no penalty for Fernandes to take, and no winner for United to enjoy.
The Ivorian finished the match with an assist of sorts (courtesy of winning the penalty), two key passes, 63 touches, and a pass completion rate of 84% with 31 successful passes out of 37. He also contributed two clearances and a tackle.
They are modest statistics on first glance – but they do not fully portray just how effective Amad was, particularly in the first half, and how important he is to Amorim’s system.
The 3-4-2-1 set-up is extremely dependent on the wing-backs to provide width and attacking threat in equal measure. With the clock deep into injury time, Amad arrived from wide with a threat into the box which ultimately led to United’s winner.
The Red Devils’ success this season will rely heavily on Amad making the right wing-back position his own – and, on today’s viewing, he has every possible chance of doing so.
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
