- Amad Diallo netted a brilliant second-half brace to guide Man United to victory
- He first scored a well-placed header before curling his second into the corner
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There were no laps of honour here at Old Trafford, not even for match-winner Amad Diallo. No wave of emotion like the one that swept Ruben Amorim out of the Estadio Jose Alvalade on Tuesday night after Sporting Lisbon’s barnstorming Champions League win over Manchester City.
No, Amorim will start work at Manchester United on Monday with the bar set low. He will take over a team that has been struggling in the lower reaches of the Premier League and only moved up to 15th place place in the Europa League last night thanks to a first win in Europe in more than a year.
If he needed an accurate gauge of the task he inherits, then look no further than games like this one. A United team that cost more than £400million to put together labouring to victory over PAOK thanks to two second-half efforts from Diallo.
None of which can really be blamed on interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy. He inherited a bad hand from Erik ten Hag and has played it to the best of his ability. United are now unbeaten in the three games since Ten Hag’s departure. Two wins and one draw. But very little has changed, in truth. United still don’t play like the sum of their expensive parts and there is an ocean of room for improvement.
Van Nistelrooy will take charge of Sunday’s game at home to Leicester City and then wait to see it he has a place in the new set-up. The indications are that he probably won’t.
Amad Diallo stole the show with a superb performance as Manchester United beat PAOK 2-0
Red Devils interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy celebrates after Diallo’s sensational opener
Peeling away at the back post, the winger looped his header over the goalkeeper to score
And then the Amorim era will begin. At least, he will arrive with United’s Europa League prospects are looking up. The next game is at Old Trafford against Bodo Glimt in three weeks’ time and he will fancy his chances of winning that one.
It took less than five minutes after the restart for United to make the breakthrough. Given what had gone before, it was no surprise that Diallo was the man to do it but no-one would have expected the 5ft 8in winger to score with a header.
It started on the left with Bruno Fernandes – leading United in Europe again after his ban in Istanbul – and spotted Diallo drifting behind Baba at the back-post. The cross was spot-on and so was the header as Diallo sent it looping over Kotarski and in off the far post.
Sio often, United’s problem has been holding onto leads against Twente, Porto and Fenerbahce, and they very nearly gave up this one within a matter of seconds. Andrija Zivkovic raced onto a pass inside the box and his low effort was far too close for comfort as it flew past Onana’s left-hand post.
The game was opening up and a first-time pass from Fernandes gave Diallo another clear sight of goal but this time Kotarski denied him, saving with his legs.
Back came PAOK. Talson found Tarik Tissoudali, unmarked 10 yards out, but his snatched low effort straight at Onana was that of a man who could hardly believe his luck.
Diallo’s second was just as sublime, curling his effort into the corner of the net from distance
Diallo thought he had won Man United a penalty in the first half, but the spot-kick wasn’t given
The winger’s brilliant night was marred by a knock he picked up, which forced his substitution
But Diallo wrapped up victory in the 77th minute when he stole the ball away from Baba and broke on goal. There was only one thought on his mind and the shot took a nick off Omar Colley on its way in.
Victory in Europe at last and something for Amorim to work with.
