The Red Devils cut things a little closer than perhaps many expected (or at least I expected) as they made it back-to-back wins in the Europa League.

A tight (ish) 3-2 win over Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt (who were very worthy opponents) saw Ruben Amorim get his first taste of victory at United in his first home game.

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His team started off even brighter (somehow) than last Sunday as thanks to very good pressing from Hojlund that forced the Bodo 'keeper into a mistake, gave Garnacho a tap-in into an empty net in less than a minute.

It took Rashford 81 seconds to give United the lead at Ipswich. Two really fast starts in the Amorim era which envoked no celebration from the new boss.

Amorim would've no doubt been happy with that start but compared to the draw in his first game, saw his team actually control the game with purpose.

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But (and there always seems to be a but) with United, despite all this control, gave the lead away after a breakaway from the away side saw them play a cutback to Hakon Evjen. He placed the ball perfectly into the top corner to bring Bodo back on level terms.

While the Norwegians didn't have as much of the ball as their English opponents, when they did have it, one could see that they all knew exactly what to do, their passing was crisp and purposeful and was more than a handful for United to deal with.

This proved true not long after that equalizer as a simple ball over the top exposed Malacia's (who was playing his first game for United in 550 days) pace after such a long layoff.

Philip Zinckernagel was in behind and he put the ball through Onana's legs to make it 2-1 and complete the turnaround.

Another lead blown by MUFC. Another game where potential problems could arise.

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However, I never felt any panic about the situation even if it was frustrating. I also sensed that the players weren't too worried either as they soon started to gain that control they had before those 2 Bodo goals.

Eventually, all this paid off as good, quick feet from Mazraoui (what a signing btw 👌) allowed him space to play in a quick cross which found Hojlund.

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The Danish striker still had a lot to do but managed to sort his feet out quickly and in a tight space, got his shot off with his weaker right-foot and brought United back to level terms. That was a finish of a man who when given the chances (even half-chances) will score the goals.

That strike allowed us to go into the break a little more at ease.

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The second period began with the home side being the aggressor of the two. Amorim's team continued their good work from the first half and were soon rewarded with a 50th minute goal with Hojlund getting his second of the night and 4th this season.

This was a more simple finish and the type of goal we want to be creating for the striker more often. Some really good, incisive play down United's right saw Ugarte have time and space on the wing. He played a simple cross which led to a tap-in for Hojlund. Despite worries of it being flagged offside, the goal stood and United got their lead back.

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It looked like only one side was going to win it from there but as has been another problem of ours this season, we were wasteful in attack. Mount, Garnacho and Rashford all had good chances to land the killer blow(s) but instead, didn't make the most of good opportunities.

Amorim spoke about his team's wastefulness up front as being a concern and will still be considering how unnecessarily tight this game ended due to those missed chances.

The manager made all five of his substitutions relatively early on (all were on by just past the hour) which was a bit of a risk considering the amount of time left in the game.

Out of the five only Amad made a real difference. If anything, we looked worse with those changes.

Luckily we managed to hold onto the 3-2 lead and we saw out the win.

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Ruben Amorim would've been relieved at the final whistle because that second period felt like it was going on f o r e v e r and with that wastefulness in attack, wouldn't have allowed the manager to walk the touchline comfortably.

But he did get his first win and there was much to be happy with. His players looked a little more comfortable with the new system; there was a lot of good and useful possession; they created a lot of chances (even if many were missed); players worked hard on and off the ball; the high press looked good; and there was a bit of character shown to come back and win the game.

I do think his substitutions were slightly too early and did affect the performance in a negative way as we just weren't as good, but he did rotate the side with a lot of players getting in good minutes. Hojlund and Mount in particular made the most of their chance.

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Ratings

Onana - 6.5

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Mazraoui - 7

De Ligt - 6

Martinez - 6

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Antony - 5

Bruno - 6

Ugarte - 7

Malacia - 5

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Mount - 6.5

Garnacho - 7

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Hojlund - 7.5 MOTM

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Dalot - 5

Shaw - 6

Amad- 6

Rashford - 5

Casemiro - 6

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Ruben Amorim - 6.5

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Final Thoughts

The win was the most important thing but I was happy with this type of game from our players. It wasn't amazing but it wasn't shit and it was a lot closer to who we truly are.

Had we had won that 4-0 playing tiki-taka, prime Barcelona football, it could mask the real issues blinding Amorim to the underlying problems.

There was a lot of positives to take but there were a good amount of negatives as well. It was also a better game to watch than that drab stuff we saw in the opening matches of the tournament.

Amorim will be happy but not too happy I'd imagine. He wanted the win, he got it but there's obviously a lot of work to be done.

This game gives us something to build upon and hopefully gives those players more confidence in terms of the style but also simply because of the win. We now need to do it again on Sunday against Everton.

Cmon Yanited 👊.

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Background Image: Rasmus Hojlund scores 2 goals against Bodo/Glimt | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)