Amad Diallo’s underwhelming performance against Porto raises questions about Erik ten Hag’s utilization of the player – Man United News and Transfer Update

Erik ten Hag simply not getting the most out of Amad Diallo, who was almost non-existent vs Porto - Man United News And Transfer News


Manchester United put in another shambolic performance as they conceded three goals again, this time to FC Porto in the Europa League, but luckily they managed to rescue a point after a last-gasp equaliser from Harry Maguire.

It began so brightly for the visitors as Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund silenced the Estádio do Dragão after only 20 minutes as United raced to a two-goal lead.

But that is when things started to go wrong as the Red Devils decided to sit back and defend, something they have failed to improve in more than two seasons under Erik ten Hag and conceded twice within seven minutes.

Matthijs de Ligt was ripped to shreds by the Porto No 9 Samu Omorodion while the team displayed familiar failings with Porto bypassing the midfield with ease.

Amad struggled

And up front, red-hot Rashford, was bizarrely substituted at the start of the second-half , while Amad Diallo on the opposite flank was kept on despite looking well off the pace on the night.

In nearly 70 minutes, the Ivorian only had 33 touches while managing zero dribbles and zero crosses. He also failed to have a single shot on target.

The former Atalanta starlet did not help out the defence too much either, managing zero clearances and interceptions as he was almost non-existent.

All he did was win three fouls while completing all of his attempted 24 passes before he was hooked for Antony late on (all stats via sofascore).

At the end of the first half, any competent manager would have taken off the 22-year-old and brought on Alejandro Garnacho on the right while keeping the dangerous Rashford on to add more attacking thrust. But not Erik ten Hag.

EtH using Amad all wrong

While Amad had started the season well, he is starting to look like a player who might not be ready to start back-to-back games at this stage.

The manager needs to rotate with Garnacho more often. The Ivory Coast international has been tipped to enjoy a breakthrough year but he will struggled if Ten Hag persists with asking him to hug the touchline.

Amad is a creative outlet who loves space to run into and prefers cutting in on his stronger left foot instead of staying out wide where he cannot dribble.

He was at his most dangerous against Southampton while on Thursday, he was hardly seen. Apart from a faulty style of play, Ten Hag is also simply not getting the best out of his talented players at this stage.

Feature image Octavio Passos via Getty Images


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