Manchester United reversed 3-1, Ahmad scored a hat in 12 minutes! Amorim made a bold substitution to turn the tide

Manchester United beat Southampton 3-1 at Old Trafford to win their first Premier League win of 2025. However, the Red Devils trailed for almost half the game, with Amad Diallo netting a hat-trick in the final 12 minutes to save the game. Manchester United have now moved up one place to 12th in the Premier League.

Ruben Amorim had to make changes to United's starting XI as Diogu Dalow was suspended, with Mazraoui taking his place at left wing-back and Diallo on the right, a classic pairing for the 39-year-old Portuguese boss against underdogs. Harry Maguire was rested due to injury, while Lenny Yoro started with three central defenders.

Southampton have only six points from their first 20 games, scoring 12 goals and conceding 44, and one thought United would play a breezy victory.

However, the style of painting after the start of the competition was a bit unexpected! Southampton's dominance put a lot of pressure on Manchester United, especially young winger Kamaludin Suleimana, who burst into the French defender's frenzy.

Of course, this should not seem surprising, as "The Saints" also beat Manchester United on the pitch in the first leg last September, with Tyler Diblinging beating Diogu Darlow at the time.

In the opening 11 minutes, Suleimana made his first performance, cutting through Yoro on the left and shooting from a tight angle, but Onana saved the ball.

United also had good chances, with Hojlund also breaking down the left, but Garnacho deflected his cross wide. The Danish centre-forward was furious and kicked the post to express his frustration.

Kobe Mayno received a through pass from Bruno Fernandes and faced the goalkeeper one-on-one, but he opted for a cross and couldn't get to his team-mate.

Diallo complained about Peters' handball in the box, but the referee did not award a penalty because he had caused the accident by pushing the opponent.

After that, it was a Southampton rhythm as they continued to threaten United's defence with dribbling past them, and Onana was very busy. The Cameroon goalkeeper made two brilliant saves in a row to defuse a must-score attack from the Saints.

Southampton's poor goalscoring efficiency has also helped Manchester United. Suleymana played Yoro again, but he got away from the Red Devils defence and kicked the ball away.

Sadly, United conceded just before half-time. Another corner, Dibling's flick in front of Ugarte, the ball hit his shoulder and reflected into the net, and United returned to the dressing room from 1-0 down. Manchester United now concede double-digit numbers from corners and are now level with Wolves (10) for the Premier League. It was the Saints' first corner of the season.

Southampton had five shots on target in the first half compared to Manchester United's one, and the score was reasonable. Amorim was unhappy, often expressing his disbelief with open arms in the technical area, and his anger was also reflected in returning to the sidelines earlier than the players at half-time.

Antony warmed up at half-time and Amorim made a decisive substitution, and the 120-minute FA Cup game against Arsenal was no excuse, and United's problems were the same shortcomings: poor attacking organisation, inefficient scoring, and perhaps some underdog mentality.

Toby Collier brought positive running and physical, Zirkze improved the constructiveness up front, and Anthony ...... He performed again without a single sword! At the start of the second half, Mr. 100 million euros received a cross from Garnacho but did not score in the face of an empty goal.

Southampton's Suleimana was still in attack, complaining about De Ligt's handball, and the referee did not award a penalty for maintaining a fair and impartial standard.

When Suleimana broke through Yoro again but deflected the ball wide, the Ghanaian left winger, who is about to turn 23, could only blame himself for not practising his final shot. Southampton's overall style of play was even better than Manchester United's, but their poor performance in front of goal made Old Trafford crowds understand why the team was already certain to be relegated.

"How do you have?" The Southampton travelling crowd chanted, "We won away from home." But they didn't, except for the timely personnel adjustment of Amorim, mainly because of one person - Amad!

United waited 291 minutes for a goal at Old Trafford, before Ahmad scored three goals in 12 minutes to complete his hat-trick. The 22-year-old Ivory Coast €40 million winger is on his way to becoming the best player in the squad this season and the savior of the team.

His luck was also good, as Diallo was blocked in the 82nd minute, but the ball bounced back in front of him, and the Ivory Coast international, who had just signed a new £120,000-a-week contract extension with Manchester United, scored with a shot to give United a 1-1 equaliser.

"Oh, Amad Diallo!" The audience at the Theatre of Dreams sang an ode to the goalkeepers. According to British media, he prefers to be called Ahmad.

Ahmad's goal in the first minute of stoppage time was even more crisp as he set up a one-two with veteran Christian Eriksen on the right and scored from inside the six-yard box to make it 2-1.

In the final moments of the game, the aggressive Ahmad also pressed in the Southampton penalty area and forced the opposition defenders to make mistakes, and he pushed the empty net to complete the hat-trick of the game. Ahmad became the first player in nearly five years to score three goals in a game since Cristiano Ronaldo against Tottenham Hotspur on 13 March 2022.

Ahmad has been involved in 12 goals in his last 13 Premier League starts for Manchester United, including six goals and six assists. The Ivory Coast winger is the first African player to reach double figures in a single season for the Red Devils.

At 22 years and 189 days, Ahmad also became the youngest player to "wear a hat" for Manchester United in the Premier League since Wayne Rooney (against Bolton) in October 2006 at the age of 21 years and 4 days, and the youngest player in the Premier League to score a triple at Old Trafford.

Ahmad was so inexperienced that he kicked his hat-trick football into the stands after the game. Thankfully, United's home crowd saw the storm and returned the ball to him for safekeeping.

While Amad's three goals were due to luck and Southampton's drop in stamina, it was largely a matter of God's luck. Ahmad may not be the most talented player on the team, but he is certainly one of the most motivated. Imagine Marcus Rashford, who would have desperately grabbed the ball in the opposition penalty area at the last minute of the game?

A week before a pay raise and a new hat-trick of his first United career a week later, Ahmad said: "Probably the best week of my life and I'm very happy with the win. The team deserved to win this game, so I'm very happy. In football, you have to be confident. We believed in ourselves until the end and were happy to win this game. We drew with Arsenal and Liverpool, so the confidence is there and we're happy."

There's no doubt that Ahmad had a great time, but it's debatable whether United deserved to win. In the stands of the Theatre of Dreams, Sir Jim Ratcliffe watched his first home game under Amorim and witnessed the victory of "Ferrule Time". But he should also be well aware that the team needs a more efficient centre-forward. "We didn't play well, but the most important thing is to win." Amorim concludes that he was absolutely right.