So a 380-day drought stretching to a 1-0 win over Copenhagen here ends courtesy of Amad Diallo, whose explosive wing play was crowned by his double. The first was a clever 51st-minute header. The second proved an exhibition of aggressiveness as he mugged Abdul Baba along the right, shrugged off the latter's manhandling, then fired a laser into the left corner, via a deflection.
But before that United lacked the high-grade ability to kill off Paok well before the close and place themselves in cruise control. Rúben Amorim should know this, anyway, but United's incoming new manager, if watching, will comprehend the size of the challenge.
United's results in continental competition this season were 1-1 versus Twente, 3-3 at Porto and 1-1 at Fenerbahce. Hardly a roll call of honour and when Van Nistelrooy dropped - or rotated - Lisandro Martínez and Matthijs de Ligt for Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelöf in central defence, and Diallo for Marcus Rashford in attack, you wondered whether three points would finally be garnered.
This story is from the November 08, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 08, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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