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How shapeshifting Amad is showing his best
Saturday 21 December 2024 10:51
A strong end to last season caught the eye, but it is in 2024/25 that Amad is sustainedly showing his best.
In a season where column inches have been allotted primarily to off-field events at Old Trafford, his performances have been among the headline-makers on the pitch. With four goals and six direct assists from 14 starts this season, he has captured the essence of that true United tradition: wide players who excite the Old Trafford gallery. His inclusion now causes a stir even before kick-off, raising hope and expectation of entertainment and endeavour.
He has played uninhibited by the arduous nature of his United career so far, which has been punctuated by loans, managerial changes and injuries. As he recently admitted: “I was out for a long time. But the important thing was to come back stronger. I was happy with my contribution. I forgot about the past and I am thinking about the present.”
The Ivorian is treating every current moment as an opportunity to keep building – an attitude which drew high praise from interim gaffer Ruud van Nistelrooy last month. “He’s constantly focused on learning and getting better, living in a professional way and he’s very motivated to get the best out of his career,” said the Dutchman.
It was under van Nistelrooy’s temporary charge that Amad netted the first brace of his Reds career during November’s Europa League win over PAOK at Old Trafford, looping home a precise header before curling in a clinching second which showcased an invaluable facet of his game: aggressive pressing. The Ivorian hassled left-back Abdul Rahman Baba out of possession, wriggled away from his opponent and fired home, underlining not only his ability to conjure something from nothing, but also showcasing his worth in a more front-foot, aggressive attacking doctrine.
Of the 21 goals scored prior to Erik ten Hag’s departure in late October, only one – Rasmus Hojlund’s winner against Brentford, stemming from an under-hit clearance – could be loosely attributed to a turnover in opposition territory. When van Nistelrooy temporarily stepped up to interim charge, that trend began to change; Amad’s second against PAOK preceded similarly successful pressing against Leicester in the Dutchman’s fourth and final game.
Though the Ivorian notched an assist for his adroit backheel to tee up Bruno Fernandes’s fine curler, the goal was traceable entirely to his work 20 seconds earlier. As a Foxes corner was thundered clear by Hojlund, visiting defender Victor Kristiansen ill-advisedly allowed the ball to bounce near the halfway line, prompting Amad to rapidly close him down, head the ball forward for himself and carry possession upfield into the Leicester area. Just 10 seconds after ending that run by winning a throw-in, the forward’s backheel to Fernandes resulted in the deadlock being broken.
Upon his arrival, Ruben Amorim sought to maintain this pressing momentum from United’s collective. His first win arose from Hojlund pressuring Bodo/Glimt goalkeeper Nikita Haikin into surrendering possession for an Alejandro Garnacho tap-in, while the Portuguese’s second victory featured a pressing masterclass from Amad against Everton.
United already led 1-0 when the 22-year-old, triggered by goalkeeper Jordan Pickford’s pass to Abdoulaye Doucoure, was on the midfielder in a flash, prompting a hurried backwards prod towards Jarrad Branthwaite, who was immediately consumed by the one-man swarm of Amad. As possession ran loose to Fernandes, the skipper picked up the assist for Joshua Zirkzee, but both were quick to acknowledge where the goal began.
When the Dutchman bagged his second after the break, it again stemmed from the breathless, fearless industry of the Ivorian, who once again made a mockery of any disadvantage in mass or power by breezing through a 50-50 challenge with James Tarkowski inside the Everton half before squaring for Zirkzee’s conversion.
Those two key pressing contributions bookended a perfectly-weighted assist for Marcus Rashford’s second, shortly after the break. Another followed for Fernandes against Nottingham Forest, while a star-turn in the Reds’ Europa League win at Viktoria Plzen featured a brilliant piece of skill and deflected shot which laid on a tap-in for Hojlund to equalise. Then, of course, came last weekend’s star turn in the derby, during which former Reds skipper Gary Neville labelled Amad: “A shining light.” Last week’s eye-catching displays came from Amad being shifted once again from wing-back to a right-sided no.10 role, with no drop-off in overall performance.
“You can’t be focused only in one position,” he acknowledged recently. “Sometimes you can play as a defender, sometimes you can play as a striker. Wherever the manager puts me, I’m ready to fight for the team. I have no problem to play just as the right winger or no. 10, I can play everywhere. Like I said to the manager, if you need me as a keeper, I’m ready to do my best!”
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Saturday 21 December 2024 10:51
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