Manchester United 3-1 Southampton: Amad Diallo nets stunning 12-minute hat-trick to save under-par Red Devils
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'Every time I'm on the pitch, I want to fight for this club.' The words from Amad Diallo were on the front of last night's match programme alongside a photo of Manchester United's new darling. And thank goodness for United, Diallo did fight. Because for more than 80 minutes here at Old Trafford they were second best to bottom-of-the-table Southampton, a team that is still on course to become statistically the worst in Premier League history.
United trailed to a Manuel Ugarte own-goal. They were facing a fourth top-flight defeat in a row – equalling an unwanted record that has stood since 1930 – and a sixth in eight games under new head coach Ruben Amorim, who could only look on in agony.
Then Diallo decided to take matters into his own hands with a sensational 12-minute hat-trick. The little Ivorian who has emerged as a huge presence under Amorim with big goals against Manchester City and Liverpool this season to earn a new contract. But this was something else altogether. With United in dire straits and Saints on the verge of a deserved win, he came to the rescue.
In the 82nd minute, Joshua Zirkzee found Diallo with a pass and he drove at Kyle Walker-Peters on the left. Diallo got a kind ricochet off the Saints defender and didn't need a second invitation, seizing on the loose ball to bury it past Aaron Ramsdale.
The killer goal arrived in the 89th minute, latching onto a one-two with Christian Eriksen to poke home from close range and send Old Trafford into rapture. Then in the fourth minute of added time, Diallo crowned an unbelievable performance as he stole the ball of Taylor Harwood-Bellis to score the third.
