Manchester United appeared calm and collected as they cruised to a 2-0 victory over PAOK Salonika in their first win in the current Europa League campaign.
Amad Diallo proved to be Man United’s hero on the night, producing a moment of magic at the start of the second half to hand his team the lead and avoid an embarrassing draw at home to inferior opposition.
United appeared confident on the ball from early on, with the team just happening to miss the final product as through balls by Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes failed to reach their targets.
Five minutes in, the visitors came close to scoring as Mady Camara let loose a shot from the edge of the box. Casemiro heroically blocked the shot, keeping the score level.
Casemiro later sent a cross into the box that Garnacho got on the end of, however, his header was off target and hit a PAOK defender.
17 minutes in, Amad was brought down in the box, with defender Baba Rahman clipping his leg with his foot. VAR checked the incident; however, no penalty was awarded.
Soon after, Rasmus Hojlund took a header of his own; however, the goalkeeper managed to catch it with ease despite the shot coming from close range.
An error from Lindelof at the back allowed Camara to get a clear shot on goal from the edge of the box, however, Andre Onana did superbly to save the attempt. PAOK’s first corner of the match was easily dealt with by the United defence.
As the referee blew the whistle for half-time, a sense of aggravation reverberated around Old Trafford following what was a frustrating first half of football.
Ruud van Nistelrooy would surely look to encourage his team to step up their attacking efforts going into the second half in order to break the deadlock in what should be a straightforward win at home.
After the restart, United took a cunning corner kick, whereby Fernandes made a short pass to Amad on the edge of the box. While he took a thunderous one-touch shot, his effort was blocked.
Minutes later, however, Amad took no prisoners as he buried a header into the back of the net after getting on the end of a cross from Fernandes. The young winger did well to outpace his marker in order to get a clear shot on goal.
Soon after kick-off, PAOK looked to equalise as Andrija Živković sprung into action, taking a shot that drifted just wide of the right post. United needed to show more focus in order to avoid allowing the visitors to find a way back into the match.
United began to reestablish their dominance on the ball, camping in the visitors’ final third. Unfortunately, their efforts were wasted when Diogo Dalot fired his effort over the top.
As the hour mark approached, Dalot slotted a through ball to Amad, whose well-struck shot from the right was saved by the outstretched goalkeeper.
60 minutes in, Garnacho fell in the box. Upon closer inspection, the referee determined that the winger made a meal of what was minimal contact, awarding a corner instead. The subsequent corner was ineffective, with Fernandes soon firing a left-footed shot well wide of the target.
Four minutes later, PAOK missed a sitter as an unmarked Tarik Tissoudali took a soft shot from close range that Onana saved. He surely regretted fluffing his lines as the United defence was wide open, leaving the striker unmarked.
In the 63rd minute, interim manager Van Nistelrooy decided to make a flurry of changes in what would be a triple substitution. Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen, and Marcus Rashford came on to replace Dalot, Manuel Ugarte, and Garnacho.
With 14 minutes left on the clock, Amad struck again. The promising winger did well to beat the PAOK left-back, dribbling him and letting rip a shot from distance that beat the keeper to finish off what was a brilliant show of individual talent.
In the 80th minute, Amad, United’s star player of the night, required medical attention for what appeared to be an injured ankle. He made his way to the sideline to allow the match to continue.
Van Nistelrooy decided not to take any further risks with Amad, taking him off for Mason Mount.
With three minutes left on the clock, Hojlund raced into the box with the ball, putting his shot disappointingly wide of the mark. It was only then that the offside flag was lifted.
In the 90th minute, Hojlund made way for Joshua Zirkzee.
Rashford got a lucrative scoring opportunity in stoppage time, putting the ball just inches past the far post.
United could feel proud with their performance, emerging as the clearly better side in what was a consistent performance with minimal errors. While an interim manager, Van Nistelrooy has enjoyed a successful tenure as United gaffer, laying the groundwork for Ruben Amorim to hit the ground running.
Starting XI: Onana, Lindelof, Mazraoui, Fernandes, Hojlund, Amad, Garnacho, Casemiro, Dalot, Ugarte, Evans
Subs: Martinez, Eriksen, Rashford, Mount, Zirkzee
Featured image Naomi Baker via Getty Images
Mathew Cohen
A faithful Manchester United supporter, Mathew has worked as a football writer and analyst for SB Nation, FanSided, and now The Peoples Person. Mathew’s heroes include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sir Alex Ferguson, all of whom played their part in creating some special childhood memories.
