Amad the shining light of Amorim's reign so far

The winner at Man City. The equaliser at Liverpool. And now a match-winning hat-trick, a week on from signing a new long-term contract at Man Utd.

Amad Diallo is the shining light of the Ruben Amorim reign so far.

“It’s maybe one of the best weeks of my life,” he told TNT Sports after his 12-minute hat-trick transformed the story for United. It was the first senior hat-trick of his career, just seven days on from agreeing a deal which keeps him at United until 2030.

A wretched 75 minutes had them on course for defeat to the Premier League’s bottom club. Instead the United supporters at Old Trafford went home singing Amad’s name. “I’m very happy for this win,” the Ivorian added.

Only Wayne Rooney has scored a Premier League hat-trick at a younger age for Manchester United. Yet even at just 22 years old, Amad is showing his more experienced team-mates how to adapt and thrive in an unfamiliar system.

Whether he is playing as one of the two attackers supporting the striker or moved into a wing-back position – as he was for his late treble – Amad is finding ways to affect the game in Amorim’s 3-4-2-1.

It’s significant that of Amad’s six league goals this term, two have been winners and three have been equalisers. In the big moments, Amad has stepped up. Not bad for a player who was handed just three top-flight starts by Erik ten Hag last season.

Ironically, it is the man who has ignited Amad’s form who is the one playing down his achievements.

“He is doing a very good season. And that’s it,” said Amorim in his post-match press conference.

“We have to be careful with the young kids. It was a really good job today. He has a lot to improve. But this game is in the past. We need to prepare for the future. In football life is like this.

“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 because it’s already in the past and prepare the next game.”

Amorim is clearly keen to keep the hype around Amad in check. That is likely due to the difficulty of the wider task he has on his hands. But for United supporters – enduring another challenging season – it is hard not to be excited about the potential of this rising star.

Analysis: Amad steps up again

Sky Sports’ Adam Bate at Old Trafford:

“Tactically, United were undone by Southampton. Leny Yoro was exposed by Kamaldeen Sulemana, the pressing – against a team notoriously error-prone at the back – was uncoordinated throughout, and there was a tentativeness to the team’s play that was alarming.

“Some of these players are still uncomfortable with what they are being asked to do by Amorim, the coach himself acknowledging that the demands represent a complete reversal of what they were being taught. Some may be just ill-suited to what is required.

“But in those circumstances, you learn even more about players and people. Amad stepped up again. As he did in scoring the winner away to Manchester City. As he did in netting the leveller at Liverpool recently. Here, it was a hat-trick to turn it all around.

“He did not wait for it to happen, he made it happen. The first goal was forced home at the second time of asking. The second came through clever movement inside the box, hoping he would be found. The third came from gambling on a defender miscontrolling the ball.

“He did it as the nominal wing-back in Amorim’s system, moved there to cover the absence of the suspended Diogo Dalot. How his coach would love it if everyone in his squad could embrace the challenges – mental and tactical – as he has this season.”

Analysis: Extending Amad deal is Man Utd’s best transfer business

Sky Sports News’ Anton Toloui at Old Trafford:

“So much talk in this transfer window has been about the future of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo but locking down Amad to a new contract looks like the best business Man Utd will do.

“They’ve needed someone to step up, take risks, push forward and take the game away from their opponents – the Ivorian has done just that.

“Mainoo was brought off early, Garnacho has missed key chances, Rashford is nowhere to be seen but Amad has stepped up.”

Amorim: We have so much to do

While Amad’s heroics spared United’s blushes, Amorim is in no doubt about the scale of the task he has on his hands.

“The feeling is we have so much to do,” he told TNT Sports after the game. “I felt the team were really tired – Liverpool, Arsenal 120 minutes, it’s not just the physical part, the mental part of the players. So it was a win, let’s continue.”

He also pointed to the pressure his players were feeling playing in front of their own fans. United had lost their last three at Old Trafford – the club hasn’t suffered four defeats in a row at home since 1934. Another issue was the team’s struggles to press cohesively as a unit as Southampton cut through in the first half.

“Playing in this stadium, we lost the last three games here, the pressure is different,” he said. “We try to press the opponent in the build up and you can feel the difficulty. Then they link between the lines and create us a lot of problems.

“We have difficulties to press high in the moment. This team is not used to do that and then it seems like a lack of enthusiasm. [Manuel] Ugarte is late, Kobbie Mainoo is late, Bruno [Fernandes] is going outside and the ball is inside. Then one transition and [Leny] Yoro cannot catch [Sulemana].

“It’s small things and then we get nervous without the ball. But then when you have one goal, one opportunity, you feel like the team can control better the game.

“I want to be fair with my players. Today was not a lack of enthusiasm. It was a lack of speed and sometimes and lack of control of the game.”