Manchester United managed to overcome the stiff challenge presented by Brentford on Monday, but Amad Diallo failed the test.
The Red Devils broke the deadlock early on thanks to a trademark Casemiro header from a corner kick. The Bees somehow failed to convert their numerous chances in the first half, but a swift counter-attack allowed the home side to double their lead through Benjamin Sesko, much to the delight of the Old Trafford faithful.
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After the break, the visitors kept pushing forward and eventually pulled one back thanks to Mathias Jensen, but it wasn’t enough to take anything out of the trip to M16.
In the lead-up to the game, there were concerns over Matheus Cunha’s condition, who reportedly underwent scans in previous days. These fears were confirmed when the matchday was announced, as the Brazilian forward’s name wasn’t on the list.
Therefore, Michael Carrick started with Benjamin Sesko upfront, flanked by Matheus Mbeumo and Amad.
On previous occasions, this combination saw the Cameroonian shifted to the left wing, with the Ivorian maintaining his usual role on the right side. But this time, the manager opted to deploy Amad on the left, but it simply didn’t pay off.
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The 23-year-old squandered important chances in front of goal, and didn’t seem to be enjoying his evening. This prompted a tactical overhaul at half-time, with Noussair Mazraoui coming in for the Atalanta youth product, thus switching from the usual 4-2-3-1 formation to a 3-4-3 system.
For Samuel Luckhurst, Amad’s struggles on the left were surprising, considering how this is supposed to be his natural role.
“Amad off for Mazraoui. First time Amad started on the left for MUFC and he looked totally out of sorts,” posted the Sun journalist on his X account.
“Odd how wingers can look uncomfortable on what should be their side.”
In the current day and age, the vast majority of the players on the flank prefer to interpret the role of an inverted winger, as they can cut the middle and shoot with their strong foot, rather than the classic winger, a role that facilitates touchline runs and crosses to the box, but usually impedes their chances to score.
In this regard, Amad is no different to the bulk of modern-day wingers, so his struggles on Monday weren’t necessarily shocking, but a stern reminder of United’s need to add a right-footed left-winger to their ranks, especially if Carrick doesn’t intend to entrust Mason Mount with this role.
Despite being left-footed, Patrick Dorgu filled this position admirably on the manager’s first two outings against Man City and Arsenal, but considering the young Dane a long-term solution for this role might be a stretch at this point.
For his part, Amad remains one of Man Utd’s most devastating attacking points, even if he has to share playing time with Mbeumo, with both left-footed stars producing their best on the right side.