Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that one player has “always worked hard” at Old Trafford and is now shining for the Red Devils.
Ruben Amorim walked away with the ultimate bragging rights over Pep Guardiola after Manchester United staged a late comeback against Manchester City.
United travelled to the Etihad for their Premier League clash on Sunday evening and the Red Devils were 1-0 down in the Manchester derby going into half-time.
Josko Gvardiol opened the scoring for City in the first half before Ruben Amorim’s men rallied back against the defending Premier League champions after the break.
Amad Diallo won a penalty for United in the dying stages of the match and Bruno Fernandes sent Ederson the wrong way from the spot-kick at the Etihad.
United inflicted a major blow on City after Amad Diallo netted the winner for the Red Devils only two minutes after Bruno Fernandes scored his penalty.
Amorim’s side can still push for Champions League qualification this season and United are only six points behind fourth-place Nottingham Forest.
City, on the other hand, are only one point outside of the top four and Pep Guardiola’s men have won only one of their last five league matches.
Solskjaer praises Man Utd star
Speaking after the 2-1 Manchester derby win, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer waxed lyrical about Amad Diallo and the impact that the Manchester United star had in the match.
Solskjaer was in the Old Trafford dugout when United completed their move for Amad in 2021, with the Red Devils signing him from Italian side Atalanta.
United splashed out an initial fee of £19m to land the 22-year-old winger, including a further £18.2m in add-ons for the deal.
“Amad is a great boy, who deserves what he is experiencing now,” Solskjaer told United.no.
The United legend added: “He always worked hard and waited for the opportunity.
“He has become stronger and faster, and the talent has always been clear.”
Amad reacts to Man Utd result vs Man City
Amad has spent time on loan at Rangers and Sunderland during his United career, with the Ivorian attacker impressing at the latter club.
The United winger impressed during the pre-season tour in the summer, but Amad was still left fighting for his place in the starting XI under Erik ten Hag.
However, Erik ten Hag’s dismissal in late October and Ruben Amorim’s arrival in November have allowed Amad to establish himself as a key United player.
Speaking to MUTV after United’s win on the weekend, Amad said: “I’m feeling very good, very nice.
“Winning against City, a derby like this, away against them who are one of the best teams in the world, you can have only [a] good feeling. I’m so happy.
“Today, we knew it was not easy, but this is a derby, if you want to win you have to be angrier than them and we showed that. We were angry and we are happy to win the game.”
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