Maybe Manchester United should play with 10 men more often if this is the reaction they get from their players under Ruben Amorim.
For the opening 45 minutes, it seemed like another one of those occasions where United would shoot themselves in the foot. Patrick Dorgu’s Premier League home debut got off to a nightmare start, as he gifted Ipswich Town the opening goal with a dreadful error. By the 43rd minute, after United had managed to get themselves ahead, Dorgu’s day took another turn for the worse, as he was sent off for a reckless, studs-up challenge on Ipswich’s Omari Hutchinson.
In the dying embers of the first half, Ipswich managed to find the equaliser, with more suspect goalkeeping from Andre Onana playing a part. By this point, Amorim must have been wondering whether he’d ever be able to bring any semblance of order to the chaotic side under his command.
But then, something changed.
The second half saw a completely different United side: obdurate, organised, and determined to dig in. All three of United’s goals, including Harry Maguire’s winner two minutes after the restart, came from set pieces — which perhaps highlights the ongoing difficulty this team faces in breaking down opposition in open play. But it was a performance that gave hope to both Amorim and the United faithful, who have been voicing their frustration with the Glazers after a week where up to 200 more staff were set to lose their jobs.
For United, this victory should also put to rest any lingering fears of relegation this season, a fate that Ipswich are still firmly battling against, stuck in the bottom three. The Tractor Boys will need a significant improvement in their performances if they are to avoid the drop.
This game was an entertaining spectacle, though perhaps not in the way most fans would have expected. The match veered off into chaotic directions, with a few key themes emerging: Ipswich’s vulnerability at set pieces, which allowed Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire to exploit them at will, and United’s dogged determination to respond after yet another self-inflicted setback.
On a more typical day, United might have won this game more comfortably, but then again, nothing about this team or this season has been typical. It almost seems as though they take a perverse pleasure in self-sabotage, and by the end of a bizarre first half — where they gifted Ipswich the lead, fought their way into the lead, then self-destructed again — it was nearly impossible to rationalise the madness.
One thing that can be said with certainty, though, is that Dorgu will not look back with any fondness on his Premier League home debut. It was a performance marked by misfortune and mistakes, starting with the disastrous blunder that allowed Ipswich to take the lead just four minutes into the match.
Sam Morsy played a hopeful ball upfield that Jaden Philogene seemed to give up on. But as Andre Onana advanced to collect the ball, Dorgu inexplicably attempted to pass it back to the goalkeeper from only a few yards away — sending it straight past him and into the path of Philogene. The Ipswich striker couldn’t believe his luck, casually tapping the ball into an empty net for his first Premier League goal.
It was a mistake that set the tone for what would be a rollercoaster afternoon at Old Trafford. But despite the turmoil, United found their resolve, with Maguire’s header and Fernandes’ delivery from set pieces proving the difference in a match that could have easily slipped through their fingers.
Amorim’s side now has a crucial three points to build on, while Ipswich will need to reflect and regroup ahead of their ongoing battle for survival.
