‘What the game is all about’: Liverpool legend surprisingly praises United man for what he did in FA Cup thriller

It’s not often you see a former Liverpool fan-favourite rally behind a Manchester United player, but Robbie Fowler did just that following the emphatic FA Cup quarter-final. 

The seven-goal thriller culminated in Amad Diallo securing United’s place in the semis with a last-gasp winner in extra-time. He was able to pounce on a loose ball and touch from Harvey Elliott before playing through Alejandro Garnacho to kickstart a devastatingly threatening counter-attack between the two youngsters.

Garnacho carried the ball the length of the pitch before slotting in the Ivorian, who then steadied himself before dispatching a scintillating strike in off the post, sending the Stretford End – and every other corner of the stadium – into euphoria. 

It marked just the second goal of Amad’s United career, the first of which came over three years ago and during the COVID era of empty stadiums, so this experience would’ve been worlds apart from what he felt in 2021.

Amidst the chaotic celebrations, the winger removed his shirt to showcase his name and number to the fans and camera. Having already been shown a yellow card earlier in his cameo, Amad was subsequently sent off and headed straight down the tunnel. 

Fowler calls for the laws to change

It was this moment that rubbed Fowler the wrong way. While he’d have preferred to see his former club reign victorious, he laments the law that led to Amad being brandished a red card.

“Seeing Manchester United’s Amad Diallo sent off after he had scored the last-minute winner to knock Liverpool out of the FA Cup last week was yet another example of how detached the custodians of football are from the game they are supposed to protect,” he penned in The Mirror.

“Our beautiful game is fuelled by emotion. If you want proof, listen to Diallo’s interview after he had scored the biggest goal of his life and then picked up a second yellow card for holding his United shirt up in front of the Stretford End to celebrate.

“He was so caught up in the moment he completely forgot that he had been booked a few minutes earlier. That’s what the game is all about. Or it should be.”