Ruben Amorim's Manchester United reign begins with frustrating draw at Ipswich

Portuguese coach sees his side labour against Premier League strugglers

Manchester United's new manager Ruben Amorim on the touchline during the 1-1 Premier League draw with Ipswich Town at Portman Road on November 24, 2024. AFP

Manchester United supporters hold a good luck banner for new head coach Ruben Amorim. EPA

Marcus Rashford puts United 1-0 up. EPA

Ruben Amorim passes on instructions to Alejandro Garnacho. Getty Images

Ipswich Town's Omari Hutchinson is congratulated after scoring his side's equaliser. AP

Liam Delap of Ipswich Town flicks the ball towards goal. Getty Images

Andre Onana of Manchester United after a stunning stop to deny Liam Delap. Getty Images

Ipswich Town's Omari Hutchinson takes a free-kick. AP

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim with his Ipswich counterpart Kieran McKenna in the background. Reuters

Singer Ed Sheeran celebrates after Omari Hutchinson's equaliser. Getty Images

Ruben Amorim's first game as Manchester United manager began with a bang but ended with a whimper as his side laboured to a 1-1 draw at Premier League strugglers Ipswich on Sunday.

With just 86 seconds gone at Portman Road, it looked as though he had conjured some Portuguese magic as Marcus Rashford put United ahead following a thrilling move.

But Kieran McKenna's relegation battlers showed plenty of fight and bite and grabbed a deserved equaliser just before half-time when Omari Hutchinson hit a stinging shot that skimmed off the head of Noussair Mazraoui and beyond the diving Andre Onana.

As the game wore on, United's familiar failings crept in to remind Amorim of the size of the task he faces.

After the match, Amorim said: "It is a tough league. I think my players were thinking too much. We lost some balls without pressure. But they really, really tried and they want this.

"I think the decision-making is a concern. We are doing some things not in the right moment, that is something we have to address. Everyone talks about the 3-4-3. That is not the concern, the system is the system but the understanding of the game, I think we have to improve a lot."

The former Sporting Lisbon boss had stuck with the trusty 3-4-3 formation that brought him so much success at his previous club.

He made three changes to the line-up that won United’s last game under interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy – a 3-0 home victory against Leicester City – as he reshuffled his pack.

In came Christian Eriksen, Alejandro Garnacho and Jonny Evans. The Northern Irish defender formed Amorim's signature back three with Matthijs de Ligt and Mazraoui.

Rashford switched to the striker’s role in a front three with Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes, while Amad Diallo was given an unfamiliar assignment at right wing-back.

The tinkering seemed to have paid off almost straight from the kick-off. Diallo made a brilliant burst down the right before crossing into the box where a charging Rashford produced a neat finish to send the visiting fans into dreamland.

But if Amorim, who replaced the sacked Erik ten Hag at the beginning of the month, was under any illusion that life in the Premier League would be quite that easy, he was soon disabused.

Amorim won two league titles with Sporting, the first of which was their first in nearly two decades.

When he departed the club after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal at Old Trafford, they were top of the Primeira Liga after winning 11 out of 11 this season and had pulled off a sensational 4-1 thrashing of United's arch-rivals Manchester City in the Champions League.

But he inherited a United side lying 13th in the table after their worst start to a Premier League season, with four defeats from 12 matches.

And as their dream start at Portman Road fizzled out, he will be in no doubt about the scale of the job facing him.

Time and again United squandered promising positions with poor decision-making and wasteful final balls.

And Amorim was thankful to his goalkeeper Onana for pulling off a string of world-class saves - including somehow keeping out a close-range effort from Liam Delap - against Premier League new boys Ipswich, who started the game one place above the drop zone.

But McKenna's men had picked up four points from their previous two games and showed plenty of spirit and organisation against United.

Ipswich captain Sam Morsy told Sky Sports afterwards: "We showed a mix of things and we are disappointed not to get the win. Their keeper has made some great saves. Omari Hutchinson has got that quality, loads of those go in in training. He will score loads this season.

"We have good momentum and are getting better and better. The big thing is we keep improving and that is the culture of the football club."

For all the £600 million-plus that Ten Hag spent on his squad, United still don't look like a team.

Despite the undoubted talent of players like Fernandes, Garnacho and Rashford, building a side that can challenge for the biggest honours will be a huge ask even for a brilliant young coach like Amorim.

FA Cups and League Cups are not enough for a club of United's stature, as Ten Hag discovered to his cost. Producing a team that can take a meaningful tilt at the Premier League or Champions League titles is what is expected of Amorim.

It is, of course, very early days but it still seems a distant prospect as things stand.