Wayne Rooney believes that Amad Diallo’s performance against Manchester City was rivalled by another standout star at Old Trafford in the Manchester derby clash.
Amad Diallo made his first Premier League appearance for Manchester United on Saturday for the first time since December 2025 under ex-Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim.
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The 23-year-old Ivorian winger had been called up by the Ivory Coast in the tail end of 2025 to represent his country at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Amad was absent for six matches across all competitions for the Red Devils during the 2025 AFCON competition amid Ruben Amorim being sacked by Man Utd.
The Ivory Coast international was immediately deployed in the starting XI under interim manager Michael Carrick in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Manchester City.
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Bryan Mbeumo celebrates with teammate Amad Diallo during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford in 2026 in Manchester, England.
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Man Utd icon Wayne Rooney on what Michael Carrick did that benefited Amad Diallo against Man City
Amad Diallo started on the right wing for the Red Devils at the weekend, with Bruno Fernandes playing centrally and Patrick Dorgu operating on the left side of the flank.
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The Red Devils forward had been predominantly playing at right wing-back in the 2025-26 campaign under Ruben Amorim’s tactical system for Manchester United.
However, Michael Carrick’s tactics for Man Utd immediately saw the Red Devils abandon Amorim’s approach of using wing-backs and two No 10s instead of full-backs and wingers.
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Speaking on his podcast, Wayne Rooney insisted that former Man Utd teammate Carrick showed his more pragmatic approach to tactics compared with Amorim.
“I think what Michael has done with the team wasn’t rocket science,” he said on The Wayne Rooney Show, as per BBC Sport.
“It was a simple tweak in terms of what he’d done in terms of formation.
“I think everyone’s been talking a lot about Ruben Amorim’s formation in the back three and how it suited Man United as well.”
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Bryan Mbeumo led the frontline for the Red Devils at the weekend and the 26-year-old summer signing broke the deadlock with a stunning finish in the second half.
Following Bryan Mbeumo’s second-half opener, Man Utd ensured their win over Manchester City after Patrick Dorgu slammed home his side’s second of the match.
United legend Rooney believes that both Amad and Dorgu were standout performers for how they fully tapped into their roles on the right and left wings respectively.
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“So he changed that, but if you go back to the last podcast we’d done when I spoke about what United need to do, it’s simple really, it’s run and work hard,” he added.
“It was so refreshing to see the players do that.
“I thought Amad and Dorgu on the wings were excellent, the work rate they put in to help the full-backs out and they got into a compact shape, which I spoke about, and hit Man City on the break.”
United’s 2-0 result over City at Old Trafford now has the Red Devils one point behind fourth-place Liverpool after the latest round of Premier League fixtures.
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