Amad Diallo’s simple refusal to give up changes course of Manchester derby

Both sets of players clash after Kyle Walker’s altercation with Rasmus Højlund. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

It was deeply fitting Amad Diallo should decide this Manchester derby, mainly because for long periods he seemed to be the only person on the pitch not playing under heavy sedation.

Footballers are often said to have stood out in a game. Diallo stood out here mainly because he actually seemed to like playing football. In the event this expressed itself in four extraordinary minutes during which Diallo played a lone hand in turning 1-0 down into a 2-1 win. Even before that there were long periods during which the slight, speedy, jarringly urgent figure on the right side of Manchester United’s attack appeared to be the only person on the pitch with any kind of hope that life can still go on, like the lone survivor in a George Romero movie, out there haring around a shopping centre dodging zombies.