Manchester United earned their first win in Europe last night for over 12 months, with Amad Diallo deservedly claiming all the headlines this morning for his tremendous brace.

Credit must be shared to the defence on the night, too, as they picked up another clean sheet to seal a much-needed 2-0 victory on home soil.

Given that the clash marked Ruud van Nistelrooy’s penultimate outing as interim manager, fans are now anticipating how the backline will shape up when Ruben Amorim takes the reins and implements his 3-4-3 formation. 

Amorim is fortunate to have a handful of high-quality centre-halves at his disposal. Leny Yoro has yet to feature for United in a competitive game since his summer move from Lille, while Matthijs de Ligt has transitioned seamlessly into the setup amidst a turbulent start to the season.

One Red whose minutes are unlikely to increase substantially is Jonny Evans, who made his fourth start of the term against PAOK on Thursday. 

The 36-year-old is now approaching the end of his United tenure for a second time, although this year could see him decide to hang up his boots for good after struggling with frequent injury setbacks in the last two seasons. His contract will expire in June 2025, and you wouldn’t expect that he’ll be offered fresh terms, especially given INEOS’ intentions to build a squad of younger players. 

Evans hailed for being Mr. Reliable yet again

That’s not to say he still isn’t performing at a top level, though. Fans and pundits have been taken aback at just how easy it’s been for Evans to roll back the years since he returned to Old Trafford for a second stint – at times, he’s been the side’s most reliable defender by a country mile.

Sofascore gave the Northern Irishman a rating of 7.5 for his efforts on European duty last night, during which he recorded four clearances, five tackles and one last-man tackle. He also won all six of his ground duels attempted and had a 93 per cent passing accuracy.

Alas, it’s no surprise that he was quick to earn praise off of the MUTV panel. 

“He is brilliant. He really never lets you down,” former Red Ben Thornley said of Evans. “He wasn’t leaving anything out there in the game, and it was summed up in his tackle near the end of the game.

“It was firm but fair, and PAOK had probably the best chance of the game with that.”