Amad Diallo made a splash in his cameo appearance away at Real Sociedad in the Europa League last 32 first leg.

In just eight minutes on the pitch, Amad completed three dribbles, more than any other player in 90.

It was a sign of his elusive dribbling ability and willingness to take players on which prompted United to invest in him.

Manchester United v Real Sociedad - UEFA Europa League Round Of 32 Leg Two
Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)

In the second leg, Diallo got half an hour, and there was not as much space to explore as both Sociedad and United sat back and played out a draw.

So what we got was Diallo trying to force the issue through his defensive work.

Amad Diallo ended the game making four tackles, and three interceptions.

His figure of four tackles was the joint best on the pitch, matched only by Sociedad defender Aihen Munoz.

Diallo’s three interceptions was matched in the United side only by Nemanja Matic, who played only 90 minutes.

 

Hard work matches his talent

We know Amad is skilful, we have seen that with training clips, from before and since he signed, and from his under-23 appearances and his away showing against Sociedad.

This performance highlighted his off ball work ethic, which was praised in midweek by Dan James.

James told the club website: “We see his quality in training, he has unbelievable feet, but we’ve seen he also presses well and wins the ball back, which is exactly what we want.“

Amad’s tactical discipline will help endear him to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and bolster his chance of more game time.

FBL-EUR-C3-MAN UTD-REAL SOCIEDAD
(Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Solskjaer likes his front players to press the opposition and Diallo did that, trying to make the most of his opportunity.

In a more open game, this could have been more productive. It still probably won’t be enough to get him a start at the weekend, but it helps push him in the right direction.

We’d all like to have seen Diallo score a goal or set one up, but his off ball work will probably have pleased the coaches even more.

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