Amad Diallo completed a remarkable turnaround against Liverpool - now he deserves a chance to stage his own comeback and build a career at Man Utd

Amad naturally described his 121st-minute strike against Liverpool as "the best goal in my career", but the truth is it had little competition, especially considering his otherwise quiet career with United. It was only his second goal for the club, despite arriving three years previously after signing from Atalanta in a deal worth a total of £37 million ($47m).

His debut strike was a glancing header in the Europa League against AC Milan at Old Trafford in March 2021, when the stadium was kept empty due to coronavirus restrictions. He barely had any opportunities to build on the momentum of that first goal, though, as he made just 12 appearances in his first spell with United, just three of which were starts.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United's manager when Amad arrived, had hailed the then 18-year-old as "one of the most exciting young prospects in the game, a player with all of the raw attributes that are needed to be an important player for Manchester United".

But the Norwegian and his successor, Ralf Rangnick, clearly felt he was too raw, as he was loaned out to Rangers in January 2022. His sojourn in Glasgow did not go to plan either, as he made just four starts in the Scottish Premiership among 14 appearances in total.

That was another bump in what has been a fraught journey in European football for Amad, who was previously caught up in an investigation into alleged player trafficking.

In 2021, he was fined €48,000 (£41,000/$52,000) by the Italian Football Federation for using fake documents to enter the country after travelling over from the Ivory Coast with Hamed Mamadou Traore, who had claimed to be his father. Amad used to be known as Amad Diallo Traore, but has since removed the 'Traore' from his name in an effort to separate himself from the controversial case.

Amad rediscovered his quality while on loan at Sunderland last season in the Championship, scoring 17 goals, many of them top-draw strikes from outside the area. Tony Mowbray, his coach at the Stadium of Light, nicknamed him 'the magician', and he dragged the Black Cats into the play-offs, where they were eventually beaten by Luton Town.

There was, therefore, plenty of excitement about his return to United, and Amad caught the eye during pre-season games against Leeds and Lyon. However, he suffered a serious knee injury in the first game of the Red Devils' tour of the United States, against Arsenal.

The injury was a huge stroke of misfortune for Amad, as he would surely have gotten chances in United's first team as Mason Greenwood left on loan for Getafe, Jadon Sancho was banished from the squad after falling out with Erik ten Hag, and Antony had a leave of absence to deal with accusations of domestic abuse, as well as struggles with his form.

Amad did not return to action until five months later when he came off the bench against Nottingham Forest in December, although it was not a happy return as the team lost 2-1. Amad, however, had shown plenty of promise and earned some praise from Ten Hag.

"He is very ball secure. He can bring a key actions, final passes, score a goal," the manager said. "And so I think he has some weapons. That is always what you are looking for with offensive players."

Despite his effusive words, Ten Hag gave Amad few more chances. He did not play again for six weeks until he was introduced with 10 minutes to go in another defeat, this time to Fulham. Although he had been out previously with an illness, he must have also felt aggrieved at the fact that he had not started that match while Omari Forson, who had no previous first-team experience, had been given the nod instead.

Amad then got 17 minutes of action in the FA Cup fifth-round tie at Nottingham Forest, but was an unused substitute for the next games against Manchester City and Everton. When Ten Hag called upon him on Sunday when United were trailing Liverpool with five minutes to go of normal time, it felt like an act of desperation.

Had the Red Devils lost, it would have been another disappointing episode in what has been an underwhelming United career. But instead, Antony's goal sent the game into extra-time. Amid the chaos of two teams furiously trading attacks, Amad showed he was up for the fight. And he brought the 'weapons' Ten Hag knew he had.

Amad did not wait for the ball to come to him. He sought it out. He mugged Darwin Nunez and as a result the ball dropped to Scott McTominay, whose pass allowed Marcus Rashford to equalise.

He continued to defend doggedly whenever Liverpool had the ball, and when the Mereseysiders won a corner just as penalties beckoned, he was the one who seized the ball from Harvey Elliot, leading Alejandro Garnacho to sprint down the pitch. Amad followed, and after first considering giving the ball back to Garnacho, he decided to go it alone, and was rewarded.

Ten Hag referenced Amad's struggles this season and in the past as he declared he was "so happy" for the 21-year-old. "That is one of the players who had huge setbacks," he said. "Returning where there is lot of competition in his position, he doesn’t always get the time he deserves to play, but then he is coming on, he shows his contribution scoring a goal."

Amad will be unable to play in United's next game at Brentford after receiving a second yellow card for whipping his shirt off after getting caught up in the madness of the celebrations against Liverpool. He confessed he had forgotten that he had been previously booked, and who can blame him for getting carried away in the euphoria, considering everything he has been through.

There will be more chances, but he does have the misfortune to have returned when there is ample competition for United's wings. Garnacho has made the right flank his own after switching over from the left following Rashford's return to form, and with so few games left and United fighting to finish in the Champions League places, he will likely have to make do with more substitute appearances.

So it is just as well that he declared: "I am on the bench, but every time I am ready to come in and fight for the team. I wait for my chance and, for me, every game is like a Champions League final."

Despite the speculation following his social media activity, Amad was keen to stress that he had worked hard to get back to United and was intent on staying.

"I was at Sunderland last season and I came here to wait for my chance," he added. "It was important for me to go on loan to get more confidence and experience, so now I am at Manchester United, I am very happy to stay here. It is very special for me because it was my dream to play for United. The manager believes in me. He gives me a lot of confidence and I want to continue like this."

Ten Hag has not made life easy for Amad, but neither has he for any player. Just look at Garnacho, who was a substitute as recently as October and is now one of the first names on the team sheet and United's most exciting forward.

Opportunities can also open through injuries, and United can expect more of those as the rate of matches intensifies in the final seven weeks, when the team could play as many as 12 games if they reach the FA Cup final.

If United make it back to Wembley in May, they will have Amad to thank for taking them there. And Ten Hag can repay him by giving him more opportunities this season as well as next campaign, when, hopefully, he will not be handicapped by spending the first five months recovering from a knee injury.

Amad's journey with United has been full of potholes, but his heroics against Liverpool demonstrated that it does not need to end just yet, and there could be plenty of more enthralling moments to come.