Ruben Amorim and Pep Guardiola on the touchline
Ruben Amorim and Pep Guardiola on the touchline
Amad rose to the occasion as he became hero for Manchester United - or the bane of Manchester City, depending on perspective.
The Manchester derby arrived at peculiar timing this term with Pep Guardiola's side suffering and their rivals at the very start of a new project led by Ruben Amorim. It was Josko Gvardiol who struck first to provide City some sense of hope the torrid run was coming to and end.
Rasmus Hojlund and an 'embarrassing' Kyle Walker later tangled, but the storyline would take yet another twist as again the reigning champions were unable to see it through. Amad first won the penalty, converted by Bruno Fernandes to equalise, then he made the most of what seemed like nothing to round Ederson and poke United into a stoppage-time lead.
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One corner of the Etihad Stadium was in raptures as the final whistle blew, the rest sent home in disbelief. Here, the Manchester Evening News rounds up what the country's national media had to say about the latest battle in this historic rivalry...
Hero vs zero
Daniel Orme for The Mirror wrote:
Manchester United inflicted more pain on Pep Guardiola as the Red Devils staged a stunning late comeback at the Etihad.
One intriguing side story of the game away from the goals and the flashpoints was Pep Guardiola's usage of Matheus Nunes. Once the team news was released, it appeared as though the ex-Wolves star was deployed at left-back.
And that was exactly where he was stationed when the game got underway. And while not a natural defender, he struggled against Amad Diallo - who was arguably United's best attacking player.
Nunes provided three tackles - which was the most in the entire City team - but it was his challenge that ended up gifting United a route back into the game. And Fernandes was the man to take full advantage.
There's no doubt right now - Amad is Manchester United's best player. He was the standout for the Red Devils all afternoon. While there was huge criticism of Amad's lofty price tag when he arrived from Atalanta, he now looks every inch of a £37m footballer.
'Start of an ending'
Ian Ladyman for The Daily Mail wrote:
We have not seen him [Guardiola] like this during his many years in England. Guardiola endured a difficult debut season back in 2016/17. He ended it winless. But that was quite clearly a period of difficult acclimatisation and nothing more.
This is not like that. That felt like a bit of a tricky beginning. This is starting to feel like the start of an ending, one that may well be with us quicker and more dramatically than any of us could ever have imagined.
Guardiola has a new two-year contract at the Etihad but pay no heed to that. When he feels it is time to go, he will go. He did it in 2014, walking away from Barcelona after four years left him emotionally spent. If he feels it is right, he will do so here too. Guardiola is not the kind of man to wait until he is asked.
And we are not there yet. Not today. Not even after this. But City are not a group of players who look like finding their true selves any time soon.
'Bereft of answers'
Oliver Brown for The Telegraph wrote:
“More than a manager”: that was the message written in Catalan across a giant tifo in the stands. It was as if Manchester City fans sensed that the sorcerer from Santpedor, the man meant to have the answer to every conundrum, could use a little flattery himself.
In the end, even the love-bombing backfired, with Amad Diallo’s audacious finish from the cutest angle deepening a crisis without parallel in Pep Guardiola’s majestic career. He was gloomy enough when his team scored, shaking his head at his assistants as if the goal were scarcely deserved. By the time the final whistle sounded at an emptying Etihad, his face was a mask of torment.
For the first time in 16 years of record dominance, Guardiola looks bereft of answers. On paper, this is every inch his team, with almost all the linchpins of the treble triumph present and correct besides Rodri. But in terms of poise, rhythm and execution, it is the palest imitation, with the scarring of eight defeats in 11 so profound that these same players now panic at the first sign of a setback.
You can see it in the lost soul that is Kyle Walker. Once the indomitable right-back whom no striker could outstrip for pace, he resorted here to crumpling embarrassingly under the faintest nuzzling from Rasmus Hojlund. Such are the symptoms of fading self-belief.
'Wallowing in mediocrity'
Dave Kidd for The Sun wrote:
The smallest man on the pitch won one of the worst Manchester derbies in living memory as Pep Guardiola’s fallen champions continued on their journey down the gurgler.
With City leading after 88 minutes through Josko Gvardiol’s first-half header, Amad won a penalty which was converted by Bruno Fernandes, then netted a dramatic late winner. This was a Manchester derby which had been billed as the worst in decades and it pretty much was the worst in decades until Amad stole the show.
Guardiola’s crumbling empire was pitted against the ancient ruins of Sir Alex Ferguson’s dynasty and you couldn’t see any world-class quality for dust. Two clubs which boast 21 titles of the 32 Premier League seasons contested are wallowing in mediocrity right now.
'Amorim and Amad leave Guardiola on his knees'
David Hytner for The Guardian wrote:
When Ruben Amorim oversaw his previous victory over Manchester City – with his old club Sporting in the Champions League – it was to push the reigning Premier League champions towards crisis. That was in early November and it was City’s third defeat on the spin.
As Amorim repeated the trick, it was to pep up his new project at Manchester United and leave Pep Guardiola on his knees. There seems no way out of the misery for the City manager, this an eighth defeat in 11 matches in all competitions, the decline of his all-conquering team stark and extraordinary.
It was Amad Diallo, the standout performer of Amorim’s fledging tenure, who made the difference. Playing in the right-sided No 10 role, Diallo was quick and direct but above all, he refused to believe that defeat was his destiny. He kept on running, ever alive to possibility and, after he had won the penalty for 1-1 – converted by Bruno Fernandes with two minutes of regulation time to play – he ran some more.
He followed it up with a volley from a tight angle that squeezed home, Gvardiol failing to clear from in front of the line. Diallo has contributed six assists in the league this season – he does not get one in the official statistics for winning a penalty – but the goal, his fourth in all competitions, was the real jaw-dropper, the one that furthered the sense of helplessness that has come to grip Guardiola and City.
European football at risk, let alone league title
Paul Hirst for The Times wrote:
As soon as Matheus Nunes’s left leg swung into the shin of Amad Diallo, Pep Guardiola knew what was coming. He knew that Anthony Taylor would soon point to the penalty spot and that around 30 seconds later, Bruno Fernandes would clip the ball past Ederson to give Manchester United an 88th minute equaliser.
What he did not see coming was that two minutes later, Diallo would pop up again with a goal that condemned Manchester City to a damaging defeat that further dented their title hopes.
Boos rang out at the final whistle. City have won one of their last 11 games. This is unsustainable if City want to get back into Europe next season.
No matter how many baby steps City take in the right direction, Guardiola’s team have somehow found a way to shoot themselves in the foot in the last two months.