The brilliant forward vindicated his coach's eye-catching selection calls as the Red Devils staged a miraculous late turnaround on enemy territory
Ruben Amorim claimed last month that Pep Guardiola signing a new contract with Manchester City was 'a problem for everybody' but on recent evidence the Portuguese has nothing to worry about when it comes to his opposite number.
Before kick off City fans paid tribute to their embattled boss with a massive banner bearing the message 'More than a coach', but by full-time in a hugely dramatic Manchester derby it was the name of Amorim that was booming around the Etihad Stadium.
The Portuguese coach made a real statement when he did not include Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho in the squad and his team made a statement on the pitch too, with no player standing out more than Amad Diallo, who almost single-handedly turned the game on its head, winning the penalty which allowed Bruno Fernandes to equalise and then scoring the winner less than a minute later.
This was a ransacking that brought back memories of United's 3-2 comeback win at City under Jose Mourinho and even had shades of their most famous win ever, in the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern Munich.
Josko Gvardiol's opening goal brought more scrutiny on United's woeful defending from set pieces but overall this was a fine display from the Red Devils' backline, with Harry Maguire leading the way and blunting Erling Haaland. There is still a lot of work for Amorim to do and it will be fascinating to see how Rashford and Garnacho respond to being discarded for the biggest fixture of all.
But right now the Portuguese is not just the boss of United, he is the boss of Manchester itself.
GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Etihad Stadium…
AFPWINNER: Ruben Amorim
The coach showed his authority by dropping a bombshell in his matchday squad as he left out Rashford and Garnacho. The decision almost backfired when Mason Mount pulled up injured and when his side fell behind the only attacking options Amorim had were Joshua Zirkzee and Antony. But by making an example of Rashford and Garnacho, the Portuguese showed that he is not to be messed with.
Amorim then produced a clear tactical plan, targeting Kyle Walker with lots of balls to City's right-hand side and refusing to let their hosts dominate possession. United may have fallen behind but they did not let their heads drop and stuck to the plan, pulling off a remarkable escape act in the end. City played their part in their own downfall but the importance of the victory cannot be underestimated.
Amorim has now beaten Guardiola twice in the space of six weeks, having also masterminded Sporting CP's 4-1 Champions League win over City, and he is the first United boss since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to win at the Etihad. The victory not only reduced the gap between City and United in the Premier League table to five points, it showed that if the players follow Amorim's orders, they can achieve great things together.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportLOSER: United's defending at set pieces
Gvardiol's goal was the fourth United have conceded from corners in their last three Premier League games. Moments later a concerning graphic emerged, showing that the team have let in the second-highest number of goals from set pieces in the league (only behind relegation-threatened Wolves) and have the highest proportion of the goals conceded from set pieces (42 percent).
The problem pre-dated Amorim's arrival but despite the efforts of specialist set-piece coach Carlos Fernandes, it seems to be getting worse. Amorim has made the team much more secure in open play than under Ten Hag, but that improvement is being cancelled out by their vulnerability from set pieces. Opposing teams are going to continue to target United from set plays and it will take lots of work on the training ground to put things right.
Getty Images SportWINNER: Amad Diallo
Amad was criminally over-looked by Ten Hag but he has quickly emerged as the most important player in Amorim's first month in charge and this performance could be the making of his Old Trafford career. He has contributed to six of the 14 goals United have scored on the Portuguese's watch and even when he was not performing at his best at the Etihad Stadium, he always looked like the player most likely to make a difference.
And so it proved. Arsene Wenger told Mohamed Salah that the thing that separates the very best players from the good players is an ability to stay in a game and keep going until the final whistle. Amad did just that, brushing aside a disappointing first half – in which he strayed offside twice – by making the difference in a matter of minutes. The Ivorian had been probing makeshift left-back Matheus Nunes throughout the game and finally got the better of him when he switched wings, forcing the Portugal international to foul him in the area.
Amad looked bruised by the challenge but he kept going and produced a magical touch and finish under pressure from Ederson to win the game. On a day when Rashford and Garnacho were singled out by their coach, Amad demonstrated that he is the best winger at the club right now. United must now make it clear how important he is to them by tying him to a new contract.
Getty ImagesLOSER: Kyle Walker
Walker is experiencing one of the worst moments of his career right now as one of the main culprits in City's dreadful spiral of results. So the last thing he needed to do was further embarrass himself with his shameful play-acting when he locked heads with Rasmus Hojlund after fouling the Danish striker.
The City captain tried his hand at acting last year in a hilarious imitation of Leonardo Di Caprio in the Wolf of Wall Street but no one was fooled by his theatrics. Walker was branded an 'embarrassment' by Roy Keane and Hojlund dug into him after the game with a cheeky post on Instagram. He was cautioned but he was extremely fortunate not to have picked up two yellow cards, one for the foul and one for trying to get a fellow professional sent off.