Ruben Amorim was given a bleak but realistic welcome to the Premier League on Sunday night after Manchester United were held to a draw at Portman Road.
Indeed, this season’s Premier League newbies, Ipswich Town, were able to build from their surprising 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur prior to the international break by claiming a point against the Red Devils in their subsequent outing.
On paper, Amorim couldn’t have really asked for a more suitable game to get him up and running. The East Anglian outfit sit 18th-placed in the league after a turbulent start and have conceded a whopping 23 goals, though United were only able to squeeze one past Arijanet Muric.
It came within two minutes of the encounter and courtesy of Marcus Rashford, marking just his second league goal of 2024/2025 after the opening 12 matches. He was in the perfect position to fire the ball home, but it was Amad Diallo’s tantalising run and inch-perfect cross that had fans most impressed with the passage of play.
Why Amorim grew irate with Rasmus Hojlund
Rashford proceeded to be withdrawn after 68 minutes, and in his place came a natural centre-forward in the form of Rasmus Hojlund, whom Amorim had pinned his hopes on clinching a winning goal in the final 20 minutes of regular time.
Yet, that would turn out not to be the case – much to Hojlund’s dismay, as he last added to his account against Brentford in October.
INews also pinpointed a moment that supporters may have missed; late in the second half, Amorim was spotted growing ‘incredulous’ with the Dane after he failed to close down Muric. The fact he’d only just entered the fray as a substitute with completely fresh legs means there’s no reason whatsoever he should’ve been slacking in the press, and it’s the exact kind of behaviour that the new coach will be looking to stamp out imminently.