Manchester United ended a dismal season with a 2-0 win against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday. The three points meant the Red Devils finished 15th in the Premier League.
In the first half, Amad played as one of the attacking midfielders and was quite dangerous, but he stole the show in the second half after being shifted to the wingback position.
The Ivory Coast international, who is a natural winger, hugged the touchline and provided the width that allowed United to find the breakthrough.
The 22-year-old scored the first goal of the game, rising highest to plant his header past the Villa goalie. He then won a penalty, which the departing Christian Eriksen dispatched.
Amad was the star of the show
He ended the game with a 92 percent passing accuracy, and he created two chances and provided two key passes. The Ivorian had two shots, one of which was off target.
Eight of his touches were in the Villa penalty box and one pass was into the final third. Impressively, the former Atalanta ace’s sole cross found its intended target while he also successfully completed all his long balls.
Most impressively, he was defensively diligent, winning all his attempted tackles, while completing one block and one clearance.
He completed four defensive actions and won back the ball six times. Amad also won two ground duels (all stats via fotmob).
Amad, the perfect wingback for Amorim?
Ruben Amorim’s system needs skilled wingbacks to flourish as they are tasked with providing the width needed to stretch the pitch. A traditional fullback is not always equipped to handle those demands.
Even though Patrick Dorgu has looked raw at times, there is no denying he understands what the role demands and usually plays very high up and loves to hug the touchline.
Amad did the same in the second half, unlike Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot, and it will be interesting to see if Amorim changes his position permanently.
That explains why the 20-time English league champions are asking for two attacking midfielders in the summer window.
Feature image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
