Indeed, United needed to win more than anything but sometimes, due to circumstances in the game, how you end up winning could mean a lot.
As we do, we didn't make it easy for ourselves as we got over the line the hard way but at least we managed to get over the line. Amorim would be happy with that and many aspects of his side's play but will still be very disappointed with some of the negatives, of which, there were a few.
1. Onana, one of the negatives
Let's not waste time, bro isn't good enough,
for Ipswich, let alone United, although to be fair to him, he did try his best to help out Kieran McKenna's side.
It's not the fact that he makes mistakes. It's not even the fact that he makes silly mistakes. It's the fact that he seems to do it almost every game.
One can be forgiven for the odd gaff but when you're doing them as consistently as Onana, then we have a problem.
That first goal was on him. Dorgu did nothing wrong in my opinion as he had eyes only for the ball and had things under control. There was no need for the goalkeeper to come so far out of his goal when his defender is in control. Even if he does, give Dorgu a shout so he knows to leave the ball.
The second goal he should be doing better as well. He should be expecting the ball to go straight through as it did as if the striker gets a touch, then it is on the dfender who obviously didn't do a good job marking him.
The goalkeeper should be focused on where the ball is going to end up with it's current trajectory instead of if it gets a touch which at that close distance, probably would make no difference as the striker will probably score.
These errors are on top of his poor distribution, palming the ball back into dangerous areas, not commanding his box and not claiming crosses. He really doesn't fill anyone with confidence which doesn't help his teammates ahead of him.
Errors leading to goals:
David de Gea - 17 in 12 years
Andre Onana - 12 in 2 years
2. Garnacho substitution
Was this the right change?
I know that in hindsight it wasn't the incorrect call because the team did look better when going down to 10 men and we won but given the situation, I still think it was the wrong decision.
Managers often sacrifice a forward for a defender when a player is sent off but I believe he took the wrong forward off.
We know that with Garnacho, he can cause chaos for oppositions, is one of our quicker and more skillful players and is a threat up front. As Ipswich were pushing to get at our weakened team, a player with Garnacho's attributes would have been ideal for this circumstance.
That pace on the break whenever they have players moving forward would've given us that out-ball, he has the ability to create chances whether for himself or teammates, and he is a better forward at the moment than Hojlund.
I would've taken the Dane off because he isn't performing well enough and is kind of a liability in the team right now. We could've moved Zirkzee to striker or perhaps played with two 10s and no number 9. Zirkzee also had a good game particularly in his hold up and link up play which was really good and he was more in the game than Hojlund.
As the game was drifting, United could've also used a player like Garnacho off the bench as again, his attributes would've been ideal for the situation of the game.
I think on another day, this change of taking Garnacho off could've hurt us. He also walked straight down the tunnel upon his substitution which is something Amorim said he will talk to the player in order to address this.
Much ado about nothing or trouble brewing in the shadows?
3. Bruno as CDM?
It appeared as if it was the captain who was the deep-lying midfielder for this match.
We often saw Ugarte, who is the usual holding midfielder, forway forward on quite a few occasions with his skipper dropping in to do that CDM role and cover for his midfield partner.
I felt that Bruno playing here gave him more responsibility in that he was more disciplined both in terms of positioning and when in and out of possession. We didn't see too many Hollywood passes and as he was deeper, not too many Hollywood shots.
He also received the ball more from the defense than Ugarte and progressed it up the field.
I believe that his overall performance benefited from this discipline. He made the right choices when he needed to and he led from the front with the way he played. There was a moment late on where he made a block, got up quickly, made a run down the left flank and played a decent cross which turned out to be a little too far ahead of Mazraoui.
In that moment we saw what Bruno is all about: endeavor and determination.
He also assisted 2 goals in what was a performance that for me, was head and shoulders above what he did at Everton. The skipper was given a high rating by everyone for pretty much scoring a goal but being shit overall. Against Ipswich, I felt that he ticked all the boxes even if he didn't score.
This was more the type of performance I expect from Bruno week in, week out. He was my MOTM which goes somewhat in contrast to what I said here.
Could he now possibly do a job as CDM?
4. Importance of good deliveries
I just spoke about Bruno who did assist all the goals but why this came to pass was because of the delivery.
Bruno has a mean cross on him, when he wants to put in a good ball.
What frustrated me at Everton (and frustrates me a little too often) was how many times he failed to put in a cross that gave our players a chance. Even if they won the header, there was no pace on the delivery, no whip, no venom, which meant that those heading it had to generate all the power which is difficult. This is all based on Bruno or anyone else, beating the first man which isn't always a guarantee.
Last night, the balls he put into the box were wicked. Whipped in with a lot of pace at the right angle in that if it was missed it could go straight in or cause problems even if we don't win the header.
All 3 goals came from set-pieces although De Ligt's was due to a rebound but that doesn't happen if the delivery isn't good. This shows that not only are we capable of delivering good balls but that when we do, there is a chance that something happens.
Why can't we do this more often?
We've already scored 10 goals from set-pieces this season which is more than we did in the whole of last season as we had 9.
5. Look better with 10 men
Weirdly, we do, or at least when things appear to be backs against the wall stuff.
Going to Anfield, we were heavy underdogs. We put up a performance and got a deserved draw.
Going to the Emirates, we were heavy underdogs. We put up a performance with 10 men v 12 and won the game.
Playing 10 men for over a half of football albeit against Ipswich, we put up a performance that earns us a much-needed 3 points.
So when the going gets tough, we get rough?
Seems so.
Amorim before the match was talking about how he wants his team to start off flying and not rely on moments whether from us or the opposition to get his team going. Those players obviously didn't get the memo (when do they ever?) as they did exactly the opposite of what the manager wanted.
Going down to 10 men wasn't ideal but we saw a steel from these players that which has been missing for a little while.
Managers would often say that it's harder to beat teams that go a man down because they go more defensive and it's more difficult to break them down.
That was true for United this time as well but things were made even harder for Ipswich due to Amorim's system in which it can easily adapt to five at the back given that he uses five defenders. Yes he doesn't want to be a defensive team but when times like these come around, he knows that his side are well equipped to deal with this adversity.
The system coupled with United's players actually showing that determination we all ask for meant that we managed to hold onto that lead.
As the manager says though, we need to start showing this attitude from the start of matches as it will make things a hell of a lot easier for us as we won't have to keep coming from behind.
That sounds a little sus but you know what I mean.
This performance and result has to be the start of something. We need to start building some momentum for the future because we're heading into the crunch period of the season.
Background Image: Bruno Fernandes puts in a man of the match performance against Ipswich | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)