Ruben Amorim had his Manchester United team held to a 1-1 draw against Ipswich at Portman Road; United took an early lead but lost before the break; Amorim’s side covered 102 kilometers, their second shortest journey this season.
Ruben Amorim admits his Manchester United players will suffer for “a long period of time” after being held to a 1-1 draw against Ipswich in his debut game as manager.
United got off to a flying start, scoring less than two minutes after the game began, with Marcus Rashford tapping home to mark Amorim’s debut. However, Ipswich swiftly took control, controlling possession and chances before Omari Hutchinson, assisted by a deflection off Noussair Mazrouai, curled in the equalizer.
Andre Onana was also called upon multiple times, making key saves to keep Liam Delap and Conor Chaplin out.
During his press conference following the game, Amorim said:
“I understand how annoying it is for the supporters, but we are changing so much right now, with a lot of games. We will suffer for a long time and strive to win games, which will take time. We could win [against Ipswich], but we could also lose without Onana.
“But we have to think and be pragmatic about [the fact that] these guys had two days to train and change so much.”
When asked about his team’s performance after the game, Amorim emphasized the importance of improving his players’ grasp of his approach.
“It’s a tough league, and you learn that right away,” Amorim told Sky Sports.
“My players were overthinking the game, and you could tell. Not only on the ball, but where they should be. And that is hard. It’s only two days with the team, therefore it’s incredibly hard. I believe we needed more physicality in the first half.
“If you watch the first half, you can tell they are a little apprehensive. [Ipswich’s Sam Morsy] was constantly alone. We need to get on him. Hutchinson was constantly in the dead space, and Jonny Evans should have been pressuring his guy, but when we don’t have training, it’s difficult to communicate all of the reactions to the players; we just had two days, so they’re a little confused.
“They want this, the players want this, but they don’t know how to obtain it, that was my impression.
“You start learning stuff you didn’t know, like how Garna [Alejandro Garnacho] can hold the ball between lines, which you can see in the games because he’s constantly open, so you try to identify these things.
“Bruno Fernandes enhanced his game by playing close to the ball. So he can give us the long pass, but you can’t have him there all the time because he always wants the long pass.
“We will try to find a lot of things about the players, we will need a lot of time to work out these things.”
