Amad Diallo was the star of Sunday’s Manchester derby, and it was his hunger and desire that ultimately made the difference.
Even before United’s incredible late comeback to win at the Etihad Stadium, Diallo had been the bright spark throughout the match.
He was the only player on the pitch who played with freedom and fearlessness, and also the only one on both sides who seemed to be having fun and trying to make an impact every time he touched the ball.
There was so much confident play from both teams, but Diallo was different and he was ultimately rewarded for his efforts, firstly by winning the penalty that led to United’s equalizer, which was the game-changer the momentum of the match, then scoring a winner. a few seconds later.
It was Bruno Fernandes who scored from the penalty spot to make it 1-1, but that only happened because Diallo was alert enough to anticipate Matheus Nunes’ bad back pass, then remained calm when he entered the City box.
He didn’t rush, leading to Nunes issuing a ridiculous challenge to him to concede a penalty, and that composure and confidence was typical of his entire performance as he seemed determined to impress his manager.
The same could be said of his second goal. Again, City should have done much better defensively as no one was pressuring Lisandro Martinez when he played him, and Josko Gvardiol was way too high with his defensive line.
This left a large space for Diallo to run into, and Nunes didn’t follow him, but it still took an incredible finish to get the ball past Ederson and past Gvardiol, who completely ruined his attempt to move it back out of the line.
Are City lacking energy, fitness… or conviction?
City may feel a little unlucky to have been beaten, given they were in the lead until the 88th minute, but they took this result to themselves.
I feel like every mistake they make is costing them dearly at the moment, but I’m not talking about mistakes when I say that this defeat was self-inflicted, but rather that their approach allowed United to grow in the game.
You rarely see City play as cautiously as they did on Sunday, but it was more understandable that United initially sat back and gave them respect as they did.
Amorim’s team fell behind to another set play, something they are really struggling with at the moment but, as the second half progressed, it felt more and more like they could pull something off of the match.
They dominated possession for long periods, grew in confidence and began to create chances. Amad came in several times from the right and also went close with a header, while Fernandes put a great opportunity wide.
At this point, City’s nervousness and lack of confidence was so evident. I’ve never seen a Pep Guardiola team miss so much, and I don’t think it’s about energy or fitness, it’s more about confidence.
They had to get higher up the pitch and take more risks to try to kill the game, but it was like they didn’t believe in themselves to do it.
Even some of their play from the back, with long games more often than I can remember, showed this. They were not willing to play and risk losing the ball because they had a short lead.
A bad day for City, a great day for United?
Even the best players on the planet can suffer from a lack of confidence at times, but it’s so surprising to see this from the entire City team.
When they were beaten at home by Tottenham a few weeks ago, they at least tried to get back into the game and took their chances against Spurs, but came undone on the counter.
This time, they offered almost nothing on offense after halftime.
Yes, they were ahead against United and I can understand that teams sometimes protect their lead and be a little more pragmatic.
City may also have been thinking about what happened against Feyenoord, when they collapsed late on.
This negativity may stay with you, but not to this level.
They completely gave up possession for most of the second half, even against a good United side.
This was a United team that, apart from Diallo, was playing to contain City and didn’t have much penetration for two-thirds of the game.
Yet City didn’t kill them at 1-0 and, worse, they didn’t even really get there.
This lack of creativity is a big problem for City at the moment. I know conceding goals is a problem for them too, but it’s the first time under Pep that they haven’t looked like they want to score either.
So he has two areas to tackle, and it seems like it’s a huge task for him, especially since he’s never had to deal with it before.
On the other hand, this result is a huge boost for Amorim, and not just because it will rally supporters and make players believe in his methods.
Most importantly, especially with Diallo being the star of the show, it justifies his treatment of Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho.
Whether or not you agree with his decision to leave them out of the squad for Sunday’s game, his explanation sets the tone for the rest of the United squad.
It tells them that no matter who you are, if you don’t practice, play well enough, or conduct yourself the right way, you won’t be on their team.
This sends a huge message to players about the repercussions of poor performance, something I don’t think his predecessor, Erik ten Hag, did often enough.
So, by all accounts, Sunday was a brilliant day for Amorim. It will be remembered as the Diallo derby, but it could be even more important for the United manager in the future.
Danny Murphy was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.