Erik ten Hag has admitted that he has been deeply impressed with Amad Diallo in two key areas after Manchester United’s 3-2 win over Real Betis on Thursday.
Amad Diallo has played a starring role for Manchester United during the pre-season tour and has impressed under manager Erik ten Hag this summer.
The 22-year-old winger missed the pre-season opener against Rosenborg last month before making his presence felt in the 2-0 win over Ranges in a pre-season friendly.
Diallo, who had previously been loaned out to Ranges, started and scored against the Scottish side at the Murrayfield Stadium in Scotland last month.
The Ivorian attacker retained his place in the starting XI for the match against Arsenal, which ended in a 2-1 defeat to United at the SoFi Stadium in California.
Ten Hag talks Diallo after Betis match
Amad Diallo kept his place in the starting XI for the Real Betis encounter and impressed with his performance against the La Liga club.
Iker Losada fired Betis into the lead in the 15th minute before Marcus Rashford pulled back an equaliser for Manchester United from the spot-kick.
Diallo then stepped up and fired United into the lead at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, California, only six minutes after Marcus Rashford’s equaliser.
Casemiro put United 3-1 up before half-time, with Diego Llorente managing to pull one back for Spanish side Betis in the second half.
Diallo was withdrawn only a minute after Diego Llorente found the back of the net and Erik ten Hag replaced the United star with Antony.
Speaking to MUTV, Ten Hag welcomed Diallo’s run of form during the pre-season and praised his performance against Betis at the Snapdragon Stadium.
The United boss added that he was impressed with Diallo’s defending contribution with the counter-press and with his overall pressing during a match.
“Yes, he [Amad] is performing well and [he is having] a good pre-season so far,” Ten Hag said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“You could see absolutely he is making an uplift in his game. Also, in the defending part with the counter-press but also with the pressing he is doing really well. So, I am really pleased with his performance.”
Ten Hag on Man Utd playing style
United’s pre-season tour will culminate with their showdown against Premier League rivals Liverpool at the Williams–Brice Stadium in South Carolina on Sunday.
The Red Devils will then travel to Wembley for their Community Shield clash with Premier League champions Manchester City on 10th August.
Ten Hag has revealed his blueprint for how he wants United to play and admitted his side must be “very aggressive” against their opponents.
“What we want to achieve is we want to be very proactive and very aggressive and it doesn’t matter if sometimes we are high [up the pitch] or sometimes in a lower block,” he said.
“We have to be very aggressive and in order to get this we need to start the press at certain points and all be on one page.
“Then the intensity must convert to being with the ball and we must do this as a team.”
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