Ruben Amorim praised Amad Diallo’s display against Ipswich, revealing the Manchester United star has already made big improvements in a matter of days.
Amorim began life as United boss with a 1-1 draw at Portman Road, with the club sitting 12th in the Premier League table but only six points off the top-four.
United made a perfect start against Ipswich, Amad bursting down the right wing and crossing for Marcus Rashford to finish inside two minutes, but Omari Hutchinson’s brilliant strike earned the hosts a point.
Amad was handed a new role at right wing-back, and Amorim was left impressed by the defensive progress the 22-year-old has made in only a few training sessions.
“I think he was very good,” Amorim said after the match. “Since these three days, he improved so much defensively.
“The opponent that he had all the team was the left-back, so it’s like a winger that follows the left-back. It’s so much easier I think, because he doesn’t have to think, ‘can I jump on the centre-back or no?’.
“You just follow one guy, and go forward with the same guy, it’s man-to-man in that area. He was so focused on everything. I think he did a great job.”
Although United made a flying start, Ipswich were good value for the point and could even have taken all three, with Andre Onana called upon to make five saves.
The best of those came in the first-half, when he denied Liam Delap from point-blank range, but Amorim was also keen to point out the goalkeeper’s role with the ball at his feet.
“I think it’s so clear for everybody,” Amorim said. “He saved us two times at least.
“And then one important thing is that he used to do so [many] long balls. He tried to connect with the players and that was very good for me.
“I think he understood the idea. He did a great job.”
