It was very United-esque. The draw at Ipswich was reminiscent of times gone by as there was more Erik ten Hag in this performance than Ruben Amorim.
I suppose that is to be expected given the time the players have worked with those respective managers but even still, we should've expected a bit more umph from MUFC.
It was very flat despite a fast start for a new manager.
Although I believe that Ruben Amorim would've taken a lot more away from this type of performance rather than an awe-inspiring, tiki-taka, prime Barcelona, 5-0-type win.
1. Playing it safe
I felt that our setup especially in the first half was a little more conservative than expansive. I expected to see us a little more on the front foot but instead, we got something where it was Ipswich in our final third and we looked to be hitting on the break when trying to create chances.
The halftime stats read:
Possession: 50.4%-49.6%
Shots: 7-5
Expected goals: 0.82-0.4
Accurate passes: 228-236
via Premier League.
This suggests a first half that was edged by the home side.
United did manage to gain some control in the second 45 but without that much of a threat. The possession went to 60%-40% in our favor and we made more passes but Ipswich still had more shots on target and had the better scoring opportunities.
If not for Onana, we would've lost. That performance by the goalkeeper was something that Amorim praised when speaking in his post-match presser.
In general, I felt that we played it too safe. There weren't enough risk taking passes.
I know we complain about Hollywood balls all the time and that's warranted but I think for this game, we went in completely the opposite direction as we didn't try enough of those.
There were a couple of good opportunities for us to play a through ball to a forward player but instead opted to go for the safe pass out wide or sideways.
"If you see the first half, you can see that the players are a little bit afraid.
My players were thinking too much in the game, you can feel it. Not just in the ball but where they are supposed to be."
This was Ruben Amorim's assessment after the game. He is spot on and ties in with the whole playing it safe. I agree that the players were a little 'scared' to perhaps to something wrong or go against the manager's word of giving the ball away cheaply.
I believe they took that a little too literally resulting in this very safe approach.
2. Substitutions
This was a positive from Ruben Amorim. I don't think there was much more he could've done in terms of the tactics and setup as that is how his teams are laid out. It was then about those on the field to go and execute his plans.
If they couldn't, changes needed to be made.
And that is exactly what he did as 11 minutes after the restart, he takes off Casemiro and Evans who were both having difficult games especially the latter.
Around 70 minutes, Amorim made two further substitutions with Rashford and Eriksen coming off for Hojlund and Zirkzee. The final alteration saw Mount come on for Garnacho late on.
I liked that he made all five of his changes, the timing of them all and the players that were taken off. We complained that Erik ten Hag never used to make enough changes, took too long to make them or made the wrong substitutions completely.
While it is only his first game, it is refreshing to see that Amorim made the substitutions that us fans would've made and ones that actually made sense as like I said, ten Hag's subs would leave us more confused than anything.
The alterations were also quite brave as they weren't straight swaps and were more attacking rather than conservative.
3. Very much the same
The biggest issues is that other than the formation, I didn't notice much change. This was still an Erik ten Hag team and performance.
I guess that should be expected considering this was the Dutchman's team for two-and-a-half years but as we know with these players, whenever a new manager comes along, they have a bounce which sees them play like a team fighting for the title.
We didn't get that with Amorim as it was very flat, slow, lethargic and energyless, just as it was for ten Hag. United were very slow to react and Ipswich won a lot of the 50-50s and second balls which showed that they were hungrier than us.
We should've expected to see a bit more from the players even if it wasn't a true reflection of their quality.
Trying to get rid of these old habits is going to be the real challenge for Amorim.
Captain Bruno Fernandes is a good example of this as we know he loves the spectacular. The manager said post-match that "he [Bruno] wants the long ball all the time." This is a problem of his that we've complained about for quite some time and while the skipper did keep it simple more than usual, that urge to go long was still there.
Amorim will have to try and remove such habits should he want the team to play like his Sporting sides.
4. Onana, Mazraoui, Amad
Out of all our players, these three have the least to worry about when it comes to their places in the team.
Under a new manager, it is always a clean slate for the squad, whether they deserve that or not. But it is also a chance for them to show the new coach exactly why they need to be in their team.
These three African players stepped up to the plate once again, as they have done all season. They are my three best performers of the campaign.
Onana made two world class saves that kept us in the game; Amad was playing in a different role but managed to perform at the level he has been performing at for a while and got the assist for Rashford after a brilliant run; and as for the Moroccan, "I thought Noussair Mazraoui did very well. He is so smart and is so important for us. He can play anywhere and that kind of player is crucial for our future." Not my words, but the words of Ruben Amorim.
Some seriously high praise for the defender from the new boss who was obviously really impressed with the his performance. The manager also said of Amad that "he was very good. In three days, he improved so much defensively. He was so focused. He did a very good job."
These three players were the only real positives to takeaway from this game. This is the level we should be expecting the rest of our squad to be playing at regularly. The fact that Onana, Mazraoui and Amad managed to play like this in a new system in the manager's first game is a testament to their abilities as players but also their attitude in that they will give everything regardless of where and how they have to play.
The others can learn from these three.
5. It will take time
Rome wasn't built in a day.
Boy, I'm sounding like ten Hag!
But he was right. Things will take time and we shouldn't be expecting a quick fix, we shouldn't be expecting to see Amorim ball for a little while. The manager himself said that "we will suffer for a long period."
Perhaps he realized the job was a lot harder and was going to take a lot longer than he initially thought after that performance but as I said in my review, I think it was better that we played like that which was more true to ourselves rather than blowing Ipswich out the water.
Maybe then Amorim would've been blinded.
Whenever it comes to a new system, things will take time. We've never played a three at the back at United and having been so used to a 4-2-3-1 formation for so long, this adaption period was going to take a while.
We saw these struggles with a lot of players and areas specifically with Jonny Evans and Casemiro. They were the first two to come off and were subbed just about 10 minutes into the second period. Evans and the left side of our defence was a real weak point in the team and was often targeted by Ipswich forcing us to build up from that side of the defence rather than down the right.
Amorim spoke about how "decision-making is a concern" and that this is something "you don't need to coach at this level."
The control of the ball wasn't good enough, some of the passing was poor, we didn't create a lot of chances and the overall control of the game was under par.
There is a lot that needs improving but I believe that with the right application and attitude, this period of suffering doesn't have to be too long. The rest of the squad should look at the likes of Amad and Mazraoui and the comments Amorim made about them.
If they can do it, why can't the rest?
Background Image: Amad puts on a brilliant performance at right wing-back in Ruben Amorim's first game as Man Utd manager | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)