Sunderland winger Amad Diallo has been named in the Championship Team of the Week after scoring the winner against Birmingham City. The Manchester United loanee cut in from the right-hand side and curled a brilliant effort into the top left-hand corner of John Ruddy's goal.
The Ivorian also played his part in Ellis Simms' opener, taking five players out of the game with a great bit of hold-up play, before rolling it into the path of the Sunderland striker to open the scoring.
Speaking after the game, Tony Mowbray was full of praise for the 20-year-old. "As I've been saying, when you've got no strikers you have to find a way - who is going to score the goals - and Amad has come to the party," Mowbray said.
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"I think there's an understanding now that this kid has got real talent and deserves to be well-respected within the football team. For me to pick Amad over Patrick Roberts, because I said a few weeks ago that I don't think there is a better footballer in the league than Patrick Roberts, yet I left him out for Amad tonight because in training he has been unbelievable with the ball, how fast he is, how direct he is.
"You look at his physical data in every one of the last three or four games and he's had the highest distance covered, the highest sprint distance, the highest intensity energy runs. He played and scored a wonderful goal, but we see him do it every day.
"He's an amazing footballer. Somebody said he cost £37m from Atalanta when he joined Manchester United, so I find it difficult to think how he is at Sunderland, but probably the pressure of playing in front of a big crowd and he relishes it.
"He can run all day and he has the ball stuck to his foot, he runs past people and he can score goals like that. We're delighted he's here with us."
Diallo has now scored three goals for the club since arriving on loan earlier this summer, with the assist for Simms' goal his first in red and white.
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