Amad Diallo has extended an olive branch to Rasmus Hojlund after the Manchester United stars were involved in an on-pitch brawl on Thursday evening.
After defeats to Arsenal and Nottingham Forest were compounded by the shock departure of sporting director Dan Ashworth last weekend, the Red Devils lifted the spirits with a 2-1 Europa League comeback win over Viktoria Plzen.
Andre Onana’s mistake allowed former Burnley and Watford striker Matej Vydra to put the hosts ahead early in the second half, but United substitute Hojlund quickly leveled before trudging home two minutes from time to score Ruben Amorim’s first secure an away win as United boss.
But the two-goal match winner’s overriding emotion at full-time was frustration at being denied the chance to score a hat-trick in stoppage time when Diallo opted to go alone rather than cross.
At another break moments later, Hojlund opted not to go forward, leading to an altercation at the final whistle as the two teams prepared to go through the tunnel.
As Diallo walked towards the Dane, Hojlund appeared to push his teammate away before ignoring him.
Man United’s Rasmus Hojlund (center) and Amad Diallo (right) had an argument on Thursday evening
After United’s victory over Viktoria Plzen, the stars protested with each other on the pitch
Hojlund was furious with Diallo’s refusal to pass late as he scored a hat-trick
They then protested to each other temporarily, until the situation eventually calmed down.
Amorim played down the argument on the field after the match – and Diallo hinted via social media on Friday evening that all was well between the pair.
Diallo shared a photo to his story of them high-fiving each other during the game, tagging Hojlund and adding the love heart emoji and crossed fingers emoji.
Meanwhile, after the match, Amorim had labeled the failure as a ‘perfect’ incident.
“Yes (I was aware of that collision),” he said. ‘And for me it’s perfect.
“You know, right now we need to feel something. When we have to fight each other, it’s like a family. For me it’s a very, very good sign. We have to feel something and that’s important.’
When you say it to the Portuguese it shows that the players care about them, he said: “That’s clear.
“If you don’t care, you don’t do anything. If you care, you fight with your brother, with your father, with your mother. For me it is a very good sign.
Diallo used social media to extend an olive branch to his teammate after the burglary
Diallo and Hojlund’s teammates were forced to intervene as the argument continued
Ruben Amorim later suggested that the row was ‘normal’ in football and was ‘perfect’
‘It’s normal. I think it’s something positive, something healthy, so I let the players and the captain calm things down.
‘If I see it’s too much, I go to the dressing room. But it is their space, they have to talk, fight and again, for me it is very important.’
Thursday’s win took United a big step towards the knockout stages of the Europa League and increased their chances of finishing in the top eight, meaning they would bypass the play-off round.
It was also a welcome boost ahead of Sunday’s trip to stumbling rivals Manchester City and another step forward as Amorim looks to build a side in his image.
“At this moment, in this context, the way we give a goal to the opponent, it was important not to give up,” he said.
‘That’s a great message. It wasn’t a great game, but we managed to do these good things, which is good when you’re building a team and I think we deserved the win.
‘I’m happy that we win the match and still fight with each other. That’s a very good thing.
“If you win and fight with your teammate because you want to score one more, then for me it’s a really good day for us.”