Amad's late hat-trick saves Man Utd in Saints showdown | Raducanu ready for Swiatek clash | RFU recruit crisis management experts
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Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm Teddy Draper and joining me are Jonathan Loo from The Guardian and John Cross from The Mirror. Welcome to you both.

Well, let's start with United's dramatic win over Southampton. Come to you, John, with the Times dazzling Diallo rescues United. Ahmad Diallo struck three times in 12 minutes as Manchester United came from behind to beat Southampton 3-1 at Old Trafford. We'll get on to how bad maybe Manchester United were for much of the game, but how good was Ahmad Diallo in that final 10 minutes?

I mean, this guy is absolutely fantastic for Manchester United. What a star he's been. What a couple of weeks he's had, to be honest. I think it was his first senior hat-trick, wasn't it? He's just signed a new contract until 2030. And I tell you what, he's even got a name to lend itself to an instantaneous headline when probably people are having to kind of rehash and throw away original back pages to

because of his hat trick so late on, 12 minutes it took him to score three goals and completely turn the game on his head. And, you know, some of the back pages, I'm sure, turned on their head as well. But he's a player that has absolutely reveled at United and...

at Old Trafford under Ruben Amarin, hasn't he really? He's embraced the system. He's been absolutely fantastic. He's slotted in. He's found his home in that United team. Listen, he's shown lots of promise before now, don't get me wrong, but I do think he's the one that's really, really thrived

under the new manager, just suits it, scored obviously that heroic and was such a huge part. United turning around the game recently at Manchester City, wasn't he? And then basically he's come up trumps again tonight. And yeah, he looks a fantastic player. Just saw his post-match interview as well. Comes across so nicely as well. Such a nice guy. And basically, yeah, brilliant, brilliant story to be honest. But yeah.

I'm not sure Southampton would agree, but fantastic turnaround and what a story for him. Yeah, just 22 years of age, back page of the eye, Jonathan, a mad knight, quick-fire treble, rescues United from the jaws of defeat. How impressive is it from Ahmed at the moment, particularly as John says there in the context of how the rest of his teammates are playing?

Yeah, I mean, we're hearing so much from United at the moment about how this is a moment of transition for them. Obviously, they've got a new coach, you've got a new style that they're adapting to. We hear a lot about this project. It's going to take months, you know, if not years to change the culture of the club.

And Ahmad comes along. I guess this is the luxury of having, you know, literally having the ball at your feet and says, no, I'm actually going to do something about this now. This is kind of what I love about him. He has, you know, three or four defenders between him and the goal. And whenever he passes the ball backwards, it's like the fifth option for him. He's always thinking about the quickest route to go. He's impatient. He's impetuous in a good way, in a way that young players should be. And he says, no, I'm going to do something about this. And

In, what is it, 12 minutes? He has completely changed the mood around a club that basically has been stuttering, to put it mildly. So you have that goal against Liverpool, you have the winner against Manchester City, and you have the three points here. Without those six points, that's six points in recent weeks that Ahmad by himself has earned United. Without those six points, they are literally in relegation trouble. They're in a relegation fight.

So I think it's a measure of how quickly the mood has turned. And that's just a testament to his talent and I guess also the hunger and the desire that he's shown to want to turn things around and do it himself. Yeah, great description of that. The joy and the positivity of Ahmad Diallo is all over the back pages too. The photographs, back page of the mail again with his tongue sticking out and a smile on his face.

Ahmad World, Diallo's late hat-trick turns disaster into delight for sloppy United. Nathan Sold at Old Trafford for the male, John. Sloppy is one word to describe the first half. Absolutely extraordinary bad, wasn't it? For people who didn't see it, just how bleak did it look for United in that first 45?

I mean, honestly, Manuel Ugarte ends up putting through his own net, doesn't he? And basically credited with the own goal. But it could have been, really, Southampton could have scored a couple more at least. They had so much possession, so much play, and were clearly, clearly the better team in that first half. And United were just so poor. I mean, it's funny, isn't it? Amarim has spent the last two games saying, you know, the results against Manchester

Liverpool in the league when they played ever so well and got a draw at Anfield and then also knocked Arsenal out of the cup mean nothing unless they focus and get a result against Southampton. You know, and really it nearly came to pass because United just lacked...

That intensity again, that desire again. They've been poor at home. You know, the results, I think this was their first win at Old Trafford, wasn't it, in the Premier League since Everton in December. Yeah. Which, you know, is a really, really poor stack of results when you're really looking to move up the league and try and gain momentum for the new manager. I actually think the Sun back page was quite clever as well, wasn't it? And you can probably actually feel from that that basically they also wanted to include...

I have to say what will go down as one of the greatest misses of all time from Antony, which is, I mean, you know, a mad finish and then underneath, and here's a bad finish because if you haven't seen it, Garnaccio crosses it and, um, uh,

Anthony, the £80 million winger is sliding in and somehow with the goal at his mercy completely open because Ramsdale was over the other side, somehow contrives to hook the ball back straight into Ramsdale's very grateful arms. It is an incredible miss.

And that, I'm sure, would have been every single back page if Ahmad hadn't turned it around. So, you know, I think there's one player in particular that will be, you know, owing him a huge debt of gratitude, really. But I do think that, you know, Henry is just showing signs, isn't he? And again, turning it around tonight, it's about gaining momentum. They've got difficult games coming up against Brighton and Rangers. And I just think they've got to seize on this momentum and move forward. And moments like that from Ahmad tonight, well, I mean, that makes all the difference.

Absolutely. It's quite a juxtaposition that, isn't it, Jonathan, with the hat-trick and then the Anthony miss, 85.5 million pound flop, the sun calling there and the headline, a mad finish again. I mean, he's played with different positions, Ruben Amir, hasn't he, Ahmed Diallo, in this formation of his and Ahmed seems to play well wherever, but he just needs some support, doesn't he? Despite the result, how concerning will the performance be of all these players, given all the money that's been spent, Jonathan, and how the books look at Manchester United? It's going to be a

a long and protracted rebuild, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, I think obviously the league position is abject and, you know, there is a huge amount, you know, of work that needs to be done. But I think Amorim is learning, even in this really tough moment, he's learning a huge amount about certain players. Anthony is one of them, actually. You know, I think he's, fair enough, he's coming with a clean slate. He wants to give everyone a chance to,

previous managers have tried to get something out of Anthony and it's, you know, sorry, but Ten Hag has tried to and it's not really worked for a lot of reasons. And so I think, you know, you could basically, you could say Amrim's given him a chance. It's not worked. He's clearly not a United standard player. And I think you just cut your losses at that point.

And he's learned things in the other direction as well. I think Ericsson stepped up tonight, actually. Lenny Yoro had a difficult night against Camel Dean, Sillimano. But he's obviously...

struggling for fitness a little bit clearly uh so so he's going to get more chances uh players like ugarti i think could have done a little bit better so i think he even in this difficult moment he's learning things about the squad that are going to help not just in this transfer window not just in the summer when it comes to deciding who's going to be part of his squad in the long term but who are the characters that step up when things are really tough

Absolutely, he's going to learn about that, isn't he? And whether Garnaccio will be one of them, John. Back page of your paper as well, Jeremy Cross, Garnaccio will cost you £60 million. Garnaccio started tonight, didn't he? Played quite well, as you say, set up the miss for Anthony. When you look at that, United fans will be upset, but when you look at all the players in the squad, is Garnaccio one of the few that will fetch a decent price, given the financial difficulties at the moment at the club?

Yeah, that's the balance, Teddy, isn't it, really? I'm sure in an ideal world, you know, the last thing United will want to do is get, you know, is sacrifice and get rid of Garnaccio, who, you know, is causing interest, particularly from Napoli right now. And, you know, I'm sure United, I mean, listen, Anthony's obviously won.

clearly, I'm sure they would sell rather than sort of kind of Garnaccio. Is Garnaccio definitely going to reach the heights that maybe we thought he was? You know, that might be another dilemma for them. But ultimately, would you want to sell him? I really don't think you would, basically. Maybe it comes into it about sort of kind of the number of non-EU players. Maybe that's something they think about as well as they look for a rebuild. You know, but honestly, I think Garnaccio is...

you know, a really exciting player and United are always based around sort of exciting, fresh young players, aren't they? Basically, it was sort of kind of coming through. That's what the club's DNA is about. But also, you know, the ongoing thing about where does Marcus Rashford go? And at some stage, you've just got to sacrifice players to kind of almost balance the books

to make sure that they're obviously in line for PSR for the long term but also to rebuild I mean because you know Amarillo clearly have players that are better suited to his own system he'll have his own ideas and I do think ultimately they'll have to sacrifice one of those players I really hope it's not Garnaccio because I just think he looks so exciting and basically you know really really good player for the future so let's hope not but

But, you know, I actually wouldn't mind betting that we're going to see a big name perhaps leave Old Trafford in this window. How much pressure on INEOS to get this right in terms of the accounting, Jonathan, given that they've spent quite a lot of money on maybe players that are certainly yet to flourish? Yeah, and I think certainly fans are going to be, I mean, I think fans are already asking questions about the disparity between results on the pitch. Obviously, talk about a lot of the outgoings that are going to be happening this January.

And I think the wider picture around the club where longstanding employees are losing their jobs, where morale in the organisation is at rock bottom, I think INEOS...

I think they need to show that they're there more than that basically just ruthless slash and burn capitalists who are there to cut costs and basically try and run a super club on the cheap. I think they want to see proper investment, not just emotional investment, not just rhetorical investment, not just giving nice interviews and nice soundbites, but actually investing time and money and care and thought into what this football club is going to look like in three or four years' time.

Yep, it's going to take a lot of serious accounting as well, isn't it? Thought, creativity there. John, before we head to the break, quick thought on Southampton, who were good in that first half. I thought they were impressive, but is that almost a nail in their coffin, really, that second victory of the season eluding them? Yeah, I do think, Teddy, it's a big one for them because isn't it now 10 points adrift, I think, from safety? Yeah. And it's not just the three points, really, that a win would...

do for Southampton I think it would be more symbolic than that and basically just give them a confidence and a belief because honestly there were shades in that play tonight where I thought they played really really well and that should give them some hope but they just made fundamental mistakes you know I mean the good finishes but the Hardwood-Bellis one is really bad and you know there's sort of kind of

It's just such a shame, really, that they're not picking up at all, really. But it's a good club, Southampton. But I have to say, from here on in, it's virtually impossible to see them surviving from this point. Jonathan, come to you for the Guardian. I've got nothing to lose. Tennis story on the front page of the Sports Supplement. Radhikanu throws off shackles for showdown with Sviontek. It's a daunting challenge coming up against the world number two, isn't it, Jonathan? Yes.

But could that momentum be finally back with Raducanu? What's your read of her run so far? Yeah, it's interesting. I mean, obviously, the quote itself sums it up, really. She is going to be second favourite. Svantec has looked imperious so far in this tournament. I think she's dropped maybe four games in the tournament so far. She's...

one of the toughest tests in the game at the moment, even at a tournament where she maybe hasn't done as well as she has at others in the past. And Raducanu, I think we've seen flashes of this. We saw flashes last season. She seems to be over the worst of the injury struggles, which have basically hampered her for the last two or three years. And she seems more assured now

off the court. She seems more confident on it. And it was interesting against, uh, Anna Samova, Amanda, Anna Samova today that she was able to win points in lots of different ways. You know, she, she was counter-punching quite a lot. We think of her as, as almost sort of a baseline aggressor. Uh, but she was able to shift the momentum within the point actually really impressively. And that, that's going to be key against Fiontek who just makes you play another ball, who grinds you down, who basically takes you to places where you don't want to go. Uh,

the ability to be able to shift points from defence to attack really quickly, that's going to be really key for her. Yeah, been really challenging, hasn't it, for Raducanu up against a really difficult opponent, five-time Grand Slam champion, John. But a little bit of public relations from Raducanu as well. Front page of the Telegraph Sport, Raducanu, Andy told me, well done. Emma Raducanu reporting that she's smoothed things over with Sir Andy Murray after their falling out

at last summer's Wimbledon. Simon Briggs with the piece, John. I suppose to remind people it was because she ended up pulling out of the mixed doubles in Murray's Wimbledon swan song. Is this important, do you think, for her image and reputation with the British public?

Yeah, I do think so. It was such a big story at the time, really, wasn't it? Because that was that that was almost the dream ticket. And, you know, it was Andy Murray's farewell. And and frankly, you know, Emma Raducanu basically wanted to sort of kind of save save herself rather than sort of kind of risk injury again, really, and put herself into into the mixed doubles.

Andy was certainly upset. I think, you know, didn't his mum also post something on social media, Julie, as well? And, yeah, it was a big story. And I do think Andy Murray, I mean, you know, I think he's an absolute...

Yeah, icon of sport, basically, you know, Britain's all-time greatest individual sportsman, as regular viewers will know. And I just think, you know, it was a big moment, really. So I do think that Emma actually has addressed this and done well to do so. I mean, it's quite telling, isn't it? She talks about sending him a message. No one ever rings anyone anymore.

just send them a whatsapp or a text basically so she's done that and got a sort of a reply basically saying wishing her well this time I completely echo what Jonathan was saying that basically she just seems to have a flow at the moment and a confidence it's all about fitness for her

When she's playing well, when she absolutely got confidence in herself and her body not to let herself down on the court, she can gain that momentum. We're almost up to, what is it now? I think 2021, wasn't it? Sort of the US Open success. I mean, it seems such a long time ago and she's had so many issues and so many setbacks.

since then. But if you remember that, that was all about momentum. That was all about sort of kind of getting through the rounds, building up, building up, building up. So who knows? It's the first time that she's been in the third round of this tournament. So, you know, maybe she's got a real chance really. But I really like the way she speaks and she comes across really well. And I think she's done well to address this one.

I hope the good times carry on for Raducanu then in Melbourne. Let's come back to Twickenham, down the road from here in south-west London. Back page of The Times, Jonathan. RFU bringing 5K a day crisis experts, consulting firm to deal with pay and bonus for our reports. Owen Slott, chief sports writer. The RFU has employed the help of a crisis management company at the cost of £5,000 a day to help it survive the reputational damage of its pay and bonus crisis. Jonathan, just

Try and explain this a little bit. It seems confusing when you're being accused of spending too much money to then spend more money. Yeah, I guess if you're not across this story, maybe you're not a huge fan of Rugby Union. This is a pretty big deal in the sport. It's been a big story for quite a while now. And it basically boils down to Bill Sweeney. The year to June, I think, or June or July last year...

He gets a total package of £1.1 million, including a bonus of £350,000. Other executive directors at the RSU are getting bonuses totaling about £1 million. And this is in a year when the RFU is making record losses. And the wider picture is that grassroots rugby is in crisis. A lot of premiership clubs...

are on the breadline, essentially. And domestic rugby is in a more precarious place than it's been, I think, certainly in the professional era. And this is about more than rugby, I think. The reason this resonates with so many people, this strikes a chord, is that at a time when all of us are sort of tightening our bells, in which we're being told there's no money to spend, we're all having to make some sacrifices,

And yet the people at the top are acting like nothing has happened, that it's business as usual. They're still getting their bonuses. They're still doing all right. And when people say, okay, well, this is a bit out of order, actually, they treat this not as an issue to be fixed, but a PR problem to be solved, which is what, according to Owen's story, the RFU are trying to do now with a crisis management firm. I think this is, on the face of it, this looks like a story that's just about arcane rugby union governance. But actually, it's not.

it's got a wider resonance because this is about how the country is run. This is about Britain in 2025 and the people at the bottom and the people at the top

Yep, a lot of people having a difficult time in Britain, a lot of people having a difficult time in the world of rugby union when you speak to people at premiership clubs as well. Let's move on to football. We've got about a couple of minutes. We're going to try and get a couple of transfer stories in. John, a club seemingly with no financial problems at the moment, Manchester City, agree, £50m Marmouch deal in the Telegraph. Sam Wallace and Mike McGrath reporting that Guardiola's champions to sign versatile Frankfurt forward. An Italy full-back, Cambiasso, seen as ideal car walker replacement.

On Marmouch, is this a Julian Alvarez replacement? John, how do you see him? Is he a potential starter imminently? Yeah, a versatile forward, Teddy, is what I'd say. I mean, he has scored 15 goals for Eintracht Frankfurt this season. He's only one behind Harry Kane. So, blimey, that must be good going, frankly, because, you know, the amount of goals that Kane scores. Look, he is a bit more, how can I put it, sort of agile, a bit more mobile, agile.

You know, he's one that could sort of play slightly behind Haaland, could sort of kind of partner Haaland, be sort of something that sort of rest and rotate with Haaland. It would just, yeah, it just gives them a different option. They really have, you know, I think missed Alvarez. Maybe that was a mistake. And, you know, Cambiasso as well. If they're basically looking to sort of strengthen areas, you know, they've got a couple of other defenders lined up. They're certainly going for it in this window. It's most unusual for,

for Manchester City to kind of do this sort of level of business in January. But it does need a squad overhaul. I do think they're trying to address the things that they're coming up short. And actually, I think it looks quite exciting, actually, business for Pep Guardiola's team. Absolutely. City tell Frankfurt, don't play £65 billion Omar's story in the mirror. Quick word on David Raya. Jonathan, you've got about 20 seconds as he encouraged you of Arsenal's title challenge, saying, yeah, of course, they're in the title race. Mirror and Sun featuring that.

Yeah, I think they are. I think, you know, last night against Spurs was one of those games where they basically had to win however they could. And it was just going to be a result that changed the whole mood around the club. The key for them, I think, is to just stay in the title race, stay in touch with Liverpool until Saka gets back in the spring. And then I think it's game on. Yeah, absolutely. What do you think, John? You think that Raya's got it right, that they can reel in Liverpool? Yeah.

We desperately need a title race, Teddy. That's the point. And I think, you know, even though they played one more game, to go within four points at last applies a tiny bit of pressure. And that's what we need. It's good for the Premier League. Yeah, back-to-back draws for Liverpool as well. Hope springs eternal of a title race. Jonathan and John, thank you for your time tonight. We'll speak to you again soon.