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Manchester United 1-1 AC Milan: 5 hits and flops as Simon Kjaer's stoppage-time goal stuns Red Devils | UEFA Europa League 2020-21

The Red Devils were stopped at the death by Milan's late equaliser
The Red Devils were stopped at the death by Milan's late equaliser

Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by AC Milan in the first-leg of their round of 16 clash in the Europa League.

Simon Kjaer powered home a scorching header in stoppage time to cancel out Amad Diallo's fine header as the Rossoneri secured a valuable away goal.

With injuries wreaking havoc in both camps, several key players were not in action for both teams tonight.

Yet the match was off to a frantic start with the visitors having the ball in the back of the net twice inside the opening 15 minutes.

On both occasions, it was ruled out for offside, much to United's relief, who then went ahead through Diallo in the 50th-minute.

The Red Devils, who failed to impress in the game tonight, were heading for an important win before Kjaer popped up with a late equalizer.

Overall, it was a fair result, but Stefano Pioli's men now hold the advantage at the San Siro, and seem better placed to advance into the last-eight.

Here are the hits and flops from the high-profile clash at Old Trafford:


Hit: Amad Diallo (Manchester United)

Amad Diallo - remember the name!
Amad Diallo - remember the name!

The youngster picked the perfect stage to introduce himself to the Old Trafford faithful.

Diallo, barely five minutes after coming on, headed Manchester United in front with a spectacular effort.

The 18-year old starlet ran in behind Milan's defense and latched onto Fernandes' floating cross with the back of his head.

The sheer audacity to even attempt a shot like that deserves praise, but Diallo isn't your regular teenager, and he showed that tonight.

For the record, that was also his first goal for the Red Devils since joining from Atalanta, and if that's a sign of things to come, then Mancunians should be very excited about the future.


Flop: Brahim Diaz (AC Milan)

Diaz showed promise, but he can and should, do more
Diaz showed promise, but he can and should, do more

A slightly improved performance from Diaz tonight but still not good enough for a game of this magnitude.

He deserves credit for always trying to find pockets of space to work into and he did manage to get the ball quite often.

What the Spaniard lacked was efficiency - despite seeing so much possession, Diaz managed to do little.

The 21-year old also lost too many balls and couldn't sustain his performance levels either, as he was subbed off with 20 minutes remaining.

Dias isn't a bad player - he's very talented and has the potential to succeed at the highest level. But right now, he's just not there yet.

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