Manchester United’s struggle in the 2024/25 season continues. They once again have dropped points against the newly promoted Ipswich Town. It was the first game of their new manager Ruben Amorim with the club. The Portuguese manager had to settle for a point on his debut as a Red Devils manager. Omari Hutchinson cancelled Marcus Rashford’s second-minute opener in a 1-1 Premier League draw at Ipswich.
Amorim branded himself ‘the happy one’ on Friday, but remained still when Rashford scored after 81 seconds thanks to great play from Amad Diallo, who was played at right wing-back. Newly promoted Town, buoyed by their first league win of the season at Tottenham a week ago, replied with confidence, levelling after 43 minutes through Hutchinson’s deflected left-footed goal. The former Sporting head coach was grateful to goalkeeper Andre Onana.
The Cameroon goalkeeper made two outstanding saves to deny Liam Delap either side of halftime. A point did nothing to help United’s chances of finishing in the top four, but it did extend their unbeaten streak to five games, moving them up one spot to 12th. This was a memorable occasion for Ipswich manager and lifelong United fan Kieran McKenna. Still, all eyes were on Amorim, who stayed with the tried-and-true 3-4-3 formation.
Ruben Amorim’s tactical gamble backfires
This Manchester United performance showed Amorim that there aren’t many sections in this group that are free of flaws. This is a squad that needs a physical, technical, and mental makeover if it is to recover its dominance. That work may require more than Amorim’s two-and-a-half seasons under contract. But if there is one position that requires less scrutiny from Ruben Amorim.
It is that of Andre Onana, who is proving to be the best signing of the Erik ten Hag period. The harsh truth is that he is a football manager, not a miracle worker. Anyone who believes this will be a simple cure and simply a matter of changing the manager is sadly misguided. There were some flashes and positives, but the same old difficulties.
