You wait weeks for the new head coach to start and his team scores within two minutes of his first match.
Ruben Amorim’s preference for a back three and how it would work dominated the build-up to the game against Ipswich Town and it was a cross from wing-back Amad Diallo that set up Marcus Rashford to give the Portuguese an ideal start.
Andre Onana was then forced to make an excellent point-blank save from Liam Delap (and again save them in the second half), but the home side more than matched their opponents and equalised before half-time through Omari Hutchinson.
Kieran McKenna, formerly a coach at United whose representatives spoke to the club in the summer about replacing Erik ten Hag, has been praised for his work at Ipswich and they made Amorim’s side work for their point.
Here, Charlotte Harpur, Carl Anka and Michael Cox break down the action from Portman Road.
That opening goal…
Amorim threw several people for a spin with a starting XI that placed Noussair Mazraoui at right centre-back of a three, Amad at right wing-back and Rashford as the centre-forward.
“We’ve tried to use the players who I had more time to pass information to,” Amorim said to Sky Sports before kick-off. “You will see some changes but big changes are not possible in two sessions.”
2 – Rúben Amorim is only the second permanent manager in Premier League history to see his side score within the opening two minutes of his very first game in charge in the competition, along with David Moyes with Everton in March 2002. Dreamland. pic.twitter.com/tQAFY0Kbov
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 24, 2024
United were playing in a new setup and formation for the first time, but the start could not have been more emphatic.
Amad’s give-and-go passing move with Bruno Fernandes (the pair were encouraged to work together on the pitch closely by Ruud van Nistelrooy during his interim stint), freed up space down the right wing…
The 22-year-old’s drive down the right left two defenders eating dust while Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Diogo Dalot all charge into the final third.
With all three desperate for the ball, as can be seen above, the Ivorian’s cross was directed towards the near post and into “the corridor of uncertainty” for Ipswich’s Aro Muric.
A momentary pause from the goalkeeper allowed Rashford to pick his pocket and poke the ball into the net.
The official goal time was one minute, 21 seconds. Amorim did not celebrate, but instead sat in his seat with a smile as away fans chanted his name.
Carl Anka
Is Rashford up front the best option?
Within 81 seconds, Rashford made his mark as centre-forward. It is a position he has rarely played recently, coming on as a substitute in that position against Crystal Palace in September and starting there as far back as February against Fulham. However, in Amorim’s first training session, he placed Rashford as his striker.
His timing to meet Amad’s cross was spot on, but that was his only shot and touch inside the opposition box in his 68 minutes on the pitch.
On several occasions, the 28-year-old and his team-mates were not on the same wavelength. In the first half, he played a simple ball to hold up play successfully but the next time he tried to lay the ball off for Garnacho, it didn’t work.
Another time Garnacho apologised to Rashford for not playing him in earlier and after a move triggered by Fernandes, Eriksen should have slid in Rashford but opted to go out wide to Dalot instead. When Rashford was set free by Garnacho’s booted clearance he was outpaced by Sam Morsy.
In the second half, there was a missed connection between Fernandes and Rashford as the United captain, with his back to goal, hit a first-time pass to the right wing but Rashford was not on the same page.
Rasmus Hojlund replaced him on 68 minutes in the No 9 position but he failed to make a grand impression and the most noteworthy action was when he opted to pass instead of shooting despite getting into a good position.
Charlotte Harpur
What does Amorim have to work on?
“I think you will see an idea,” said Amorim in his first interview with club media recently. “You could like it or not, I don’t know, but you will see an idea.”
United fans’ enjoyment oscillated throughout the game, but Amorim’s idea seemed to be built upon short, quick passes between United players in buildup. Yet McKenna set his team wisely to halt this. Ipswich congested midfield well (particularly in the first half), meaning United’s attempts to play two-touch, pass-and-move football lacked finesse.
A central midfield pairing of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen tried its best to stamp its authority on things, but were often second best when it came to regaining possession.
When defending in a back three, United attempted to mark Ipswich’s forwards man-for-man, but it was a touch ambitious to ask the 36-year-old Jonny Evans to aggressively jump out of his defensive line and tackle players. The return of Luke Shaw — who came on in the 55th minute — might help things.
Amorim talks to Garnacho during the match at Portman Road (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
United looked good in phases at Portman Road, but no one should underestimate the amount of work needed to take this team from the bottom half of the Premier League table and into the Champions League places. Thursday’s Europa League fixture against Bodo Glimt may see the new head coach bring Manuel Ugarte into the starting line-up and bring more athleticism to United’s defensive endeavours in the middle of the park.
Lisandro Martinez’s uncertain injury status means options are limited in defence. Still, it will be interesting to see how Amorim uses his wing-backs going forward. It was telling that Dalot and Amad tended to avoid joining the front press against Ipswich, perhaps in an attempt to preserve their energy levels. Amorim spent his Friday pre-match press conference discussing United’s need to be better physically, and how he would focus on “details” to improve things in the immediate future.
The idea that was present at Portman Road had promise. Its execution….
Carl Anka
The importance of Onana
You were left thinking how did Liam Delap not score?
The Ipswich forward was involved in an altercation with Mazraoui on Sunday and also caught Jonny Evans with a flailing arm, for which no action was taken, but he could also have been on the scoresheet were it not for United’s ‘keeper.
In the first half, the ball was neatly squared to him eight yards out, with just Onana to beat, which proved a problem.
Onana stayed strong and stretched his right arm out. It was not a flailing lucky arm but a remarkable save and illustrated the strength of his wrist to block the shot and palm it away.
It is not the first time Onana has come to United’s rescue this season — he did so again against Delap in the second half. These saves add to the incredible double save the Cameroonian produced during United’s 1-1 Europa League draw with Fenerbahce last month.
Onana’s rate of ‘goals prevented’, which compares how many goals a goalkeeper actually conceded against the number they were expected to ship, is high (3.7), conceding fewer goals than expected and hints at a very positive shot-stopping performance so far this campaign.
The 28-year-old had received criticism last season for inconsistent performances but has been one of, if not, United’s best players. There were some concerns there may be some disruption following the departure of goalkeeper coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar given they had established a positive working relationship. That does not seem to be the case with new coach Jorge Vital coming in under Amorim.
Moments after that great save, however, Onana was unfortunate with Ipswich’s equaliser as Mazraoui’s head nudged Hutchinson’s curled effort above his outstretching palm.
Charlotte Harpur
How did McKenna’s Ipswich disrupt United?
This match was a reminder of the importance of cohesion. Ipswich surely wouldn’t get a single player in the Manchester United XI, but were far more familiar with their manager’s instructions, and probably created more clear-cut chances.
After their concession inside two minutes, they didn’t panic, and the impressive thing about McKenna’s side is the variety of attacking threats they offer. Wes Burns provided width and crossing down the right, Hutchinson is tricky in tight spaces in the No 10 role, Delap is a battering ram with the ability to link play too, while Sam Szmodics bursts into goalscoring positions from the left with Leif Davis pushing forward on the overlap behind him. All five of these players, in various ways, caused United problems.
Ipswich struggled in terms of pressing, with their front four not entirely sure how to confront United’s five defenders. And at times their centre-backs look somewhat scrappy. Twelve games and only one win into McKenna’s Premier League adventure, he will need more than morale-boosting performances soon. But the strength of his side’s display underlined why some connected to United would happily have seen him in the opposite dugout here.
Michael Cox
What did Ruben Amorim say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Man Utd?
Thursday, November 28: Bodo/Glimt (H), Europa League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
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(Top photo: DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)
