Amad Diallo rescued Manchester United from a potentially embarrassing result against Southampton in the English Premier League on Thursday.
With United a goal down and struggling to find any way through the league’s bottom-side at Old Trafford, Diallo suddenly found himself taking matters into his own hands.
He netted a stunning 12-minute hat-trick to save his team’s blushes and showcase why he's one of the most talented prospects in Europe this season.
The Ivorian, 22, was recently rewarded with a new contract extension running until summer 2030 and he’s displaying exactly why United forked out £19million to sign him from Atalanta in January 2021.
It’s fair to say that Diallo didn’t make the desired impact Rangers fans expected when on loan at the Ibrox club. The winger spent the second half of the 2021/22 campaign in Scotland but was limited to just 13 appearances before being send back down south.
He will get his opportunity to go head-to-head with Philippe Clement's current side and highlight his rapid development when United host Rangers in the Europa League on January 23.
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Reacting to scoring his first senior hat-trick, Diallo told TNT Sports: “In football you have to believe. We believed until the end and are very happy to win this game. We drew with Arsenal and Liverpool so the confidence was there.
“This is maybe one of the best weeks in my life. I am very happy for this win. This team deserved to win this game so I am very happy.
“I am ready to play every position where the manager likes to put me. I am ready to fight for this club. I am so happy to play where the manager wants me to play and I am so happy to score a hat-trick.”
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was delighted for his player yet emphasised the importance of it not proving to be a one-off display.
His assessment could be seen as wanting to keep Diallo's feet on the ground since he's already notched an important winner at Manchester City and an equaliser at Anfield in recent times.
“He has to rest, eat good and prepare for Sunday because we will need him again,” the United boss told reporters.
“He did a great job, it’s a great moment for a young kid to score a hat-trick for a club like this. But he needs to focus on the next match already…
“The important thing is to win and he helped us to win. He’s doing a very good season. I’ve already said, you have to be careful with young kids. He did a really good job today.
“He has a lot to improve but this game is in the past and you have to prepare for the future. Football is like this and life is like this.”
