Manchester United’s Amad Diallo scored twice for a 2-0 win over PAOK in the Europa League on Thursday as interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy achieved what the sacked Erik ten Hag failed to do with the club’s first victory in this season’s competition.
United had drawn their three previous Europa League games, but Amad’s looping header back across the goal into the bottom corner from a Bruno Fernandes cross five minutes after the break sent Van Nistelrooy’s side on their way.
The Greek visitors to Old Trafford had chances to take something from the game and United goalkeeper Andre Onana was forced to tip over a shot from Mady Camara in the first half.
PAOK had an excellent opportunity to equalise in the 64th minute but the unmarked Taril Tissoudali could not get enough power in his shot from close range to beat Onana, and Amad made sure of victory 13 minutes from the end.
This time he did it all alone, dispossessing Baba Rahman and holding off the defender’s challenge to reach the edge of the area before unleashing a curling shot which took a slight deflection on its way into the far corner.
The win leaves United in 15th place in the Europa League standings on six points from four games.
Elsewhere, Chelsea recorded the biggest Europa Conference League victory as they crushed Armenian side FC Noah.
The Blues, playing a completely different team to their last Premier League game, led 6-0 at the break – and added two more in the second half.
They took the lead when Tosin Adarabioyo headed in Enzo Fernandez’s corner. Noah lost the ball almost immediately following their kick-off and Marc Guiu won the ball and scored.
Axel Disasi headed in another Fernandez corner, then Fernandez fed Joao Felix who ran through and clipped the ball over the goalkeeper.
Mykhailo Mudryk scored the goal of the game when he curled a fine shot into the top corner, before Felix netted his second via a deflection.
Christopher Nkunku, who also hit the bar, hooked in a seventh from an angle after his initial shot was saved. And the Frenchman then scored a penalty which he slammed down the middle.
BBC
