Amad Diallo Changed The Game For Atalanta On His Champions League Debut

Amad Diallo impressed in his 22 minute-cameo for Atalanta in the Champions League.

The Ivorian forward finally made his Champions League debut, 13 months after making his first Serie A appearance, and he looked equally comfortable in Europe’s biggest club competition.

Diallo was signed by Man Utd last summer, but due to work permit issues, he’s expected to arrive in England in January.

Nevertheless, his presence at Atalanta has led to the supporters of the English giants keeping a close eye at the fixtures of the Bergamo based outfit as they are keen to see more of their new exciting signing.

However, due to the abundance of attacking options and probably the fact that his transfer has already been finalised, Diallo’s minutes have been limited this season under manager Gian Piero Gasperini.

His first appearance of the 2020-21 season came up in Atalanta’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of Hellas Verona in Serie A, where he featured for only 13 minutes.

In the Champions League tie against FC Midtjylland, he again came off the bench in the 68th minute as Atalanta trailed the Danish side by one goal in Italy.

Although the 18-year-old replaced Luis Muriel, one of the club’s star players, Atalanta didn’t miss the Colombian striker’s presence thanks to Diallo’s impressive cameo, and went on to grab the equaliser in the 79th minute via Cristian Romero. The youngster was on the pitch for just over 20 minutes, and still Duvan Zapata was the only player who took more shots than him in the entirety of the match.

Runs in behind, 1v1 threat, ball retention, two footed. We’ve actually hit the jackpot and finally got a proper modern attacker

— Aby (@__Abyyy__) December 1, 2020

We might have discovered a gem in Diallo pic.twitter.com/I7UV42DQQb

— Ché🇿🇦 (@UtdChe) December 1, 2020

One of Diallo’s best qualities is his spatial awareness; it’s rare to find him with tunnel vision when he has the ball.

I cannot wait to analyse his performances for us!

— UtdArena (@utdarena) December 1, 2020

 

The Italian side secured a vital point and gained a one-point advantage over Ajax in the group table, while the Old Trafford faithful got another sight of Diallo’s potential.

The highly-rated talent will be expected to play similar cameo roles in Europe in a Red shirt in February, if Man Utd, who face PSG on Wednesday, book their place in the Champions League knockout stages.