Man Utd ended a year-long European winless streak by defeating PAOK.

Amad Diallo's two goals gave Manchester United a 2-0 victory over Greek champions PAOK Salonika at Old Trafford, igniting their Europa League campaign.

In his third game as interim manager, Ruud van Nistelrooy gave Amad his first start in more than a month. The 22-year-old returned the favour with a dynamic display that was highlighted by two game-winning goals in the second half, igniting United's chances of making it to the knockout stages.

United needed to start well against a PAOK team that had the superior first-half chances because they had drawn their first three Europa League meetings with Twente, Porto, and Fenerbahce. Mady Camara and Andrija Zivkovic were both denied by Andre Onana's excellent saves.

In contrast, United only had a brief chance to score through Dominik Kotarski's goal in the first forty-five minutes, as Rasmus Hojlund's feeble header from Casemiro's cross was easily stopped before Baba Rahman's incredible last-ditch goalkeeping denied Amad at the far post.

After the restart was given more urgency, United took the lead five minutes later when Amad climbed up to meet Bruno Fernandes' deep cross and loop a header back across goal and in off the far post.

When Taison feed the unmarked Tarik Tissoudali, United was almost unpicked right away, but the PAOK striker telegraphed his shot from close range. With a resolute run and finish, it allowed Amad to seal a victory for Van Nistelrooy, which will help his prospects of playing under new head coach Ruben Amorim (77).
 
As the 36-team league phase reached the midway point, the win put United in 15th place. Amorim's next Europa League encounter will be their first at Old Trafford against Bodo/Glimt.

"Amad made a difference today, because of his goals, but he was very sharp," Van Nistelrooy told TNT Sports. Good game, and well done to him. We performed poorly in the first half from a positional standpoint. In the second half, we performed that much better.

"He has been incredible in training, he always trains well and is asking me to do more."

How Diallo shone during the initial Amorim audition

The Greek champions were no easy opponents, and United had only triumphed once in their previous 11 European matches.

Early on, Camara's attempt was blocked by Casemiro, wrongfooting Onana before being dealt with, leaving the 4,000 spectators in the away end and a few in the home section holding their breath.

As the roar of PAOK chanting persisted and United started to ask their own questions, Zivkovic made room and bowed wide.

Shortly after the VAR looked for a possible penalty, Alejandro Garnacho's attempt was stopped as Van Nistelrooy's team began to put balls into the area.

Former Chelsea left-back Rahman caught Diallo, but Daniele Chiffi in the booth supported referee Radu Petrescu's decision to disregard the protests.

Kotarski met a cross from Diallo, who saw Rahman take the ball off his toe after Garnacho whipped a low ball to him at the far post, and Hojlund saw a bundled header collected by Kotarski.

As the initial session came to an end, PAOK's threat level increased. After a deft initial touch, Onana pushed over Camara's snapshot after stopping Zivkovic's hopeful attempt.

Before Amad broke the stalemate, neither team made any changes before the second half, which was five minutes old.

The winger stretched to shoot a looping header back across goal and narrowly inside the post after Bruno Fernandes sent a diagonal pass to the far post.

It was approved following a VAR assessment, despite PAOK's accusation that Hojlund had blocked Tomasz Kedziora's effort to clear.

United played with determination but lacked the necessary incision, as Kotarski denied Diallo a second. United has paid a heavy price for that this season, and Zivkovic missed a great opportunity in the 64th minute before PAOK wasted it.

Van Nistelrooy's team was relieved by Tissoudali's blatant miss and settled the tension with an incredible goal in the 77th minute.

As he continued to fight Rahman, Amad gained control. He shown strength and talent as he switched to his left foot and curled home a beautiful attempt from the box's edge.

Following what seemed to be a knock to the match-winner, Mason Mount entered the game, and the visitors subsequently introduced Shola Shoretire.

The home crowd cheered the United academy graduate on as he took the pitch, becoming him the youngest player to play for the Red Devils in a European match. Almost adding gloss in stoppage time was Marcus Rashford.

"If I'm being fair, the first half was pretty bad," Van Nistelrooy continued. Better was the second half-way. It was obvious. Getting outcomes was crucial to me. I can only express my satisfaction with the players' performance.

"I enjoy it but Sunday is another one and I'm so focused on doing that so I'm not thinking of what is next."

Amad: All I want is for people to be happy.

Amad had only made two starts in nine games. After being pulled as a precaution towards the finish, he accepted the cheers from the fans barefoot. However, nothing was able to erase the smile from his face.

"We haven't won in Europe in a long time," he said to TNT Sports. "We demonstrated today why we are among the top teams. Today's victory was crucial. It is crucial to score each and every time. I've been unlucky this season, so I'm glad I scored two today. But winning was the most crucial factor.

"I like to celebrate with the fans and make people happy."