Amad fired a blistering 12-minute hat-trick to haul Manchester United back from a goal down to beat Southampton 3-1 – but manager Ruben Amorim is already pushing his winger to repeat his heroics
Relieved Ruben Amorim watched Amad’s hat-trick heroics but admitted: “Now he needs to do it again.”
The brilliant winger saved Manchester United from a humiliating loss against the Premier League ’s bottom team. They were in danger of falling to a fourth straight home defeat for the first time in more than 80 years after Manuel Ugarte’s first-half own goal.
But Amad struck an 82nd-minute equaliser, fired the winner with just seconds remaining and completed his remarkable hat-trick in injury-time. Asked what he said to the 22 year-old afterwards, Amorim said: “I didn’t say anything.
“I’ll tell him tomorrow that he has to rest, eat good food and be ready for Sunday [against Brighton ]. We need him again. He did a great job. And it’s a great moment for a young kid to score a hat-trick for a club like this but it’s already in the past and we have to prepare for Sunday.”
On Southampton almost getting only their second win of the season, Amorim insisted: “There was always belief [we’d win]. I have to believe. But when Antony misses you think let’s go again. The three losses are still fresh but we managed to turn things around.”
Amad was only the third player in history to score three goals in the final ten minutes of a Premier League game. Fellow Red Devils Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Wayne Rooney were the others to complete the feat against Nottingham Forest (1999) and Hull City (2010) respectively.
Saints boss Ivan Juric bemoaned: “We were really good for 70/75 minutes and then it’s really bad management. It’s a real pity we play like this.
“I am from Italy. There is a moment you have to be Italian. Some fouls, free throws. We are innocent, like kids, playing well and they score. We have to be more evil.”
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