It was bold. It was brave. And for 88 minutes it looked very foolish indeed. But this is why Ruben Amorim has been tasked with being Manchester United’s saviour. From the minute he walked in the door, he promised short-term pain for long-term game. It seemed, however, he had taken things a step too far. Whatever Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho had done to be omitted from the squad for a crucial Manchester derby, it should not have come at the cost of his team getting a result at the Etihad.
Amad Diallo, in winning an 88th minute penalty and firing a sensational winner, instead gave Amorim the ultimate justification for making the big calls, even for the biggest games. Many will say such courage has long been conspicuous by its absence around Old Trafford. Amad is already Amorim’s posterboy for this high intensity, high press game he wants to instil at United. Rashford and Garnacho, already, are anything but.
