Amad Diallo’s second-half double gave Manchester United the win they needed over Greek champions PAOK to kick-start their Europa League campaign and give incoming boss Ruben Amorim a shot at sealing a coveted top-eight finish.
Amad was by far United’s biggest goal threat. He broke the deadlock when he sent a looping header into the far corner five minutes after the interval.
The Ivorian sealed the win when he curled home from the edge of the area 13 minutes from time.
Tarik Tissoudali wasted PAOK’s best opportunity when he failed to convert from eight yards with only Andre Onana to beat.
Onana also made an acrobatic save to deny Mady Camara during a largely drab opening half.
The victory was United’s second in their past 12 European games and their first this season after starting the expanded Europa League competition with three successive draws.
Their next game in the competition, against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in three weeks’ time, will be Amorim’s first home game as head coach.
A largely unconvincing display from the home side was in marked contrast to that of Amorim’s current club, with Sporting producing a superb performance to beat Manchester City in the Champions League earlier in the week.
But if there is a positive from tonight for Amorim, at least he has plenty to work at in his new job and quite a lot of scope for improvement among his players.
