One of the beautiful things about interviewing Manchester United’s players is discussing their aims and targets and then seeing them achieve it in front of your eyes.
Amad was a case in point when chatting to the Ivory Coast international at Old Trafford, seeing him glance at the pitch and envisaging what it would mean to score out there in front of fans, rather than behind closed doors as he did against AC Milan.
When that moment came, it genuinely could not have been better timed by our no.16, as it provided an explosion of joy that will forever be remembered by Reds all over the world in dumping Liverpool out of the Emirates FA Cup a few weeks ago.
On Sunday, when Jurgen Klopp’s side again provided the opposition, it was the turn of Kobbie Mainoo to realise an ambition he had revealed in one of our exclusive Fans’ Q&A interviews, where you provide the questions.
The unassuming teenager was asked to relive his maiden senior goal, against Newport County in the FA Cup, but also threw things forward when indicating that the next thing to chalk off was a first strike for Erik ten Hag’s men at the Theatre of Dreams.
“To score for United was an incredible feeling,” he said, during a reply to a question from Ashton. “I mean, next now is just to do it at Old Trafford. So that’s what I’m looking forward to next.”
He had scored there before, a point he hinted at during his post-match interview with MUTV, as he bagged a header in the win over Everton, en route to lifting the FA Youth Cup in 2022.
Clearly, though, this one against the other Merseyside club meant more. Such a wonderful illustration of his balance, poise, technique and confidence, the curler past Caoimhin Kelleher in the visiting goal prompted comparisons with Federico Macheda’s marvellous winner against Aston Villa during the 2008/09 Premier League title race.
Unfortunately, Kobbie’s effort did not get the three points at the weekend, even if it deserved to.
And this was another notable admission from the England international afterwards, that it would have meant more to gain victory than any personal glory or moment to savour.
You see this is Kobbie Mainoo all over. It’s exciting that supporters will hear more from him on Wednesday when we release the full video of our Fans’ Q&A. Nobody should miss the chance to watch the midfielder display the personality which is so endearing. There is one answer, in particular, which I feel perfectly sums up the humble nature of the 18-year-old.
It was as big a pleasure to pose the questions to him as it is to watch him play football, which is some compliment to the youngster.
Look out for the Fans’ Q&A with Kobbie Mainoo, in association with Melitta, on the United App and ManUtd.com at 14:00 BST on Wednesday
