'Every time I'm on the pitch I want to fight for this club.' Amad Diallo's words appeared on the front cover of the match program on Thursday evening next to a photo of Manchester United's new darling.
And thank goodness for United, Diallo fought. Because for more than 80 minutes here at Old Trafford, they were second best to Southampton, a side still on course to become statistically the worst in Premier League history.
United fell behind after an own goal by Manuel Ugarte. They faced a fourth top-flight defeat in a row – equaling an unwanted record that has stood since 1930 – and a sixth in eight games under new head coach Ruben Amorim, who could only watch in pain.
Then Diallo decided to take matters into his own hands with a sensational twelve-minute hat-trick. The diminutive Ivorian who has emerged as a big presence under Amorim with big goals against Manchester City and Liverpool this season to earn a new contract.
But this was something completely different. With United in trouble and Saints on the brink of a deserved victory, he came to the rescue.
In the 82nd minute, Joshua Zirkzee found Diallo with a pass and drove towards Kyle Walker-Peters on the left. Diallo took a friendly deflection from the Saints defender and did not need a second invitation. He latched onto the loose ball and buried it past Aaron Ramsdale.
The killer goal came in the 89th minute and set up a one-two with Christian Eriksen to poke home from close range to thrill Old Trafford.
In the fourth minute of extra time, Diallo topped off an incredible performance when he stole the ball from Taylor Harwood-Bellis to score the third.
This was one of those nights where it was hard to tell whether Southampton were up to the challenge or whether United were so bad that they made the worst team in the Premier League look good.
Diallo allowed them to build on their encouraging recent results and performances at the Emirates and Anfield.
It had lifted the mood here, but also raised questions about the mentality of players who could compete against Arsenal and Liverpool and still lose four home games in a row to Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth and Newcastle.
Amorim was right to call them out and demand more of the same. If the United players had any doubts about their head coach's expectations, Amorim made that clear in his matchday notes. “In terms of fight, heart and hunger we have seen the real Manchester United in the last two games,” he wrote.
'Over the past month we've been to the Etihad Stadium, Anfield and the Emirates – three of the toughest places to play in the country – and got positive results from every venue. To do that, quality and character are needed, but the task now is to show that in every match, regardless of the opposition.'
With six points and a goal difference of minus 32, Southampton arrived at Old Trafford with the worst record after 20 games in the history of the Premier League. They had scored twelve goals, the fewest in the top five divisions of English football.
But thoughts drifted back to United's 3-0 win over St Mary's in mid-September, when Andre Onana's save from Cameron Archer at 0-0 turned the match in their favor when Saints were comfortably top. Small margins and all that.
Onana was back in goal, replacing Altay Bayindir after the Turk's heroics in the penalty shootout at Arsenal in the FA Cup. Diallo came on for the suspended Diogo Dalot after being sent off at the Emirates, where he showed his versatility playing as a right-back, and Leny Yoro took over from Harry Maguire, who was only fit enough for a place on the bank.
The challenge for United was not just in terms of their mentality, but also in their ability to prevail in games where they had much more possession. It is fair to say that they came up quite short in the first half.
After a good start from the home team, it was Southampton that grew in confidence. Kamaldeen Sulemana gave Yoro a torrid time on the right, turning United's £59million man in the 12th minute and forcing a fine save from Onana before Mateus fired straight at the United keeper.
It was no surprise that United were better at half-time and twice they stood out with Bruno Fernandes as provider. First he released Rasmus Hojlund and set aside Alejandro Garnacho in front of the goal. Then Fernandes sent Kobbie Mainoo clear, but he couldn't find Garnacho with a simple pullback.
When Garnacho had shots blocked in quick succession by Jan Bednarek and Harwood-Bellis, it seemed only a matter of time before United would score.
But Saints went on the attack again and Onana had to make a brilliant double save. Tyler Dibling had tormented United at St Mary's and he did it again here, turning Lisandro Martinez and three defenders and forcing another excellent stop from the Cameroonian, who made an even better stop to deflect Fernandes' pursuit with his chest out of the point to keep. empty range.
But Onana was unable to save United when the team had to concede a corner three minutes before half-time after Matthijs De Ligt had scored the ball from a corner.
Mateus delivered from the right and Dibling stood up for Martinez to shoot through. The ball hit Manuel Ugarte on the back as he turned and the ball went past Onana, who couldn't quite clear it.
“We've scored a goal, we've scored a goal,” the jubilant Saints fans sang.
In the meantime, Amorim sent Antony on his way, eliminated the anonymous Mainoo and pulled Fernandes back into the middle. They were quickly followed by Zirkzee and Toby Collyer as Saints started the second period with even greater intent.
United rallied and Garnacho whipped a cross to the far post where Antony slid in unnoticed but somehow guided the ball into the hands of Aaron Ramsdale rather than over the line. It was a staggering miss.
Ramsdale then rushed out to deny Fernandes one-on-one but was helpless to stop hero Diallo's late show.
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