Ruben Amorim spent the last seconds of his first game urging his new team to get the ball forward quickly in hope of a late winner. Instead, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui passed it between themselves in midfield so that danger was a distant concept for Ipswich Town when referee Anthony Taylor blew his whistle.
It was an emblematic finish to Amorim’s debut in England: players struggling to respond to a demand for more. Amad and Mazraoui have been two of United’s best players this season and each handled an altered role at Ipswich commendably, but there were just as many questions at the end of the game as before kick-off about this squad’s suitability to Amorim’s system.
Afterwards, Amorim said United might have short-term results from sticking to a formation familiar to the players, but ripping off the plaster now would have benefits long term.
It had taken only 81 seconds for the “idea” he promised to come to fruition. Building from the back through Mazraoui as right-sided centre-half to Amad as right wing-back, United sliced through Ipswich with aggression and quality.
Amad’s one-two with Bruno Fernandes freed the pitch and when he broke past two Ipswich players, United had three players in the box, with Marcus Rashford, the scorer, supported by Alejandro Garnacho and Diogo Dalot, the wing-back on the other side. That is Amorim’s vision and he referenced that in the post-match press conference.
But that was as good as it got.
Much of that was down to Ipswich’s fightback and it is hard to imagine the equivalent side in Portugal having the same kind of response against Amorim’s Sporting CP.
That is the strength of the Premier League and a particular credit to Kieran McKenna, who has guided Ipswich to back-to-back promotions and was spoken to by United in the initial search for Erik ten Hag’s successor around the FA Cup final.
McKenna admitted Ipswich were uncertain how United would line up even after the team sheets arrived, specifically referencing Garnacho or Amad at wing-back, but he and his team worked out how to react. Ipswich sparked in a passage when United had tried to do all the right things. Rashford sprinted to press, with Christian Eriksen following fast and Jonny Evans pushed high on Omari Hutchinson when the ball got played up. But Hutchinson spun Evans and Ipswich eventually got a cross into the box.
Hutchinson turned Evans again later in the half and that duel seemed to prompt Amorim to switch Eriksen with Casemiro after less than 15 minutes to bring the Brazilian over for defensive cover. In the second half, after Hutchinson had scored the equaliser, Amorim sent on Luke Shaw with a mission to man-mark the Ipswich winger, which at one stage continued even over to the opposite flank.
Amorim also swapped Fernandes with Garnacho at the break, trying to see which combinations would work best. Fernandes dropped deeper when Joshua Zirkzee came on, but Amorim appeared dissatisfied at his exact positioning and shouted instructions.
The Portuguese coach wore his emotions clearly. He would be on his haunches often, getting a pitch-level view of the game, and when Eriksen was left trailing at an Ipswich break early on, Amorim turned to his bench with his hands together in prayer at how easy space had opened up in midfield. He will have gained information about the merit of starting Casemiro and Eriksen in a high-intensity contest.
Amorim was pleased with how his players had handled the change of formation after two training sessions together — some of his choices for his starting line-up were down to those who he had longer with during the international break — but he conceded he had been “anxious” in moments.
“They were thinking too much during the game, sometimes we had the ball in defence and the rest of the guys were stuck thinking where they should be. When you make a new structure, they need some time to have fluidity in their game.”
Amad at wing-back was a mixed bag. His endurance to dribble at speed gave United their goal, but he was caught out defensively by Jens Cajuste’s long ball in behind him to Ipswich left-back Leif Davis for Liam Delap’s big chance in the first half. Andre Onana’s save spared United and Amad learnt in the second half, managing to stay alert and wrestle to win the ball when Sam Morsy tried the same trick to Davis.
But Amad spent much of those 45 minutes as a full-back, hardly the areas he is best equipped to manage. His only attacking foray came in added time, at the end of a sequence when Amorim had been imploring his players to cross the ball rather than pass around the edges. Zirkzee’s apparent ambivalence to get into the box to offer a reference point undermined Amorim’s requests. In the end, Amad took the initiative, dribbling into the box brilliantly but seeing his shot blocked.
Amorim needed a swig from his bottle of water when Zirkzee ballooned a shot from distance way over and sympathy was in short supply because of the centre-forward on the other side. Delap’s physicality troubled United. He was fortunate to avoid a booking for hurting Evans and then barging Mazraoui to the floor — with protestations to the fourth official from assistant Adelio Candido, coach Andreas Georgson and Shaw — but it was the kind of display that made you wonder if United really have a better option themselves, granted Rasmus Hojlund had a good opening season last year.
Delap’s turn on Matthijs de Ligt in midfield, his ball to the wing with the outside of his boot, and his backheel finish to the ensuing cross was an example of great striker play. It will have been seen in all its glory by analyst Eduardo Rosalini, who has joined Amorim after having his visa approved, sitting in the stands next to Darren Fletcher. Fitness coach Paulo Barreira, sitting in the dugout, had an earpiece in to communicate with those up above.
Carlos Fernandes, considered Amorim’s No 2, was also vocal during the game and has made an impact with players already at Carrington. Amorim will hope that as time progresses, that impact can provoke winning change.
(Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
