Amad Diallo has called his extra-time winner against Liverpool a ‘dream come true’ after securing Manchester United a place in the FA Cup semi-finals.
The Ivorian came off the bench to decide a classic cup contest between the arch-rivals, in a seven-goal thriller at Old Trafford.
Diallo raced away on the counter-attack to slide a 120th-minute decider past Caoimhin Kelleher and seal a 4-3 win for the Red Devils, after an epic end-to-end encounter between the teams.
Scott McTominay had poked Manchester United into an early lead, but Liverpool dominated much of the contest and twice led in the tie.
Antony’s equaliser forced the added period with the Brazilian levelling the score at 2-2 on 87 minutes, only for Harvey Elliot’s deflected drive to put Liverpool ahead again in extra time.
Marcus Rashford then capitalised on a defensive error from Liverpool to make it 3-3 before Diallo decided the quarter-final on the break. Alejandro Garnacho and the Ivorian raced away on the counter from a Liverpool set-piece, with the latter steering in to erupt Old Trafford.
“Dream come true. That goal will give me a lot of confidence and I want to continue like this. I’m very happy. The most important thing is to win this game,” Diallo told BBC Match of the Day.
“I wanted to give it back to Garnacho but I see the defender and I have to go on my own. It is unbelievable, it is a dream for me to score the last goal for Manchester United. I want to say thanks to the supporters. It is one of the best games of the season so we want to continue like this.”
Manchester United will take on second-tier Coventry City in the semi-finals, with the winner to take on Manchester City or Chelsea in the 2024 FA Cup final at Wembley.
