All Ruben Amorim's Manchester United took to score against Ipswich Town was 80 seconds. Marcus Rashford was on target, but then, things went downhill. The Portuguese manager's first Premier League game in charge of the Red Devils ended in an unimpressive 1-1 draw and the 39-year-old was visibly uneasy about the outcome.
After going a goal down, Ipswich refused to lay down and took the game to United as they sought an equaliser that came before halftime from Omari Hutchinson. He curled a shot into the top corner helped by a deflection off visiting defender Noussair Mazraoui.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Amorim hinted that several United players, including centre-back Jonny Evans and midfielder Casemiro, didn't live up to his expectations. There were moments that could have been handled differently during the game by his players, Amorim told the press.
Meanwhile, former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves, who was alongside Ruben Amorim during the game at Portman Road reportedly revealed that the manager was particularly unhappy with three players on Sunday. Neither Casemiro nor Evans was among the trio who disappointed the United manager with their performance against the strugglers.
Owen Hargreaves named strikers Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund as two players who didn't live up to their gaffer's expectations. They were introduced as a part of a double substitution in the 68th minute. The Dutch attacker's positioning was an area of concern for Amorim, who also complained about the midfield balance on display, Hargreaves reportedly said.
Marcus Hojlund | Reuters
"I think the midfield balance he didn't really like, and when Zirkzee came on I don't think he was overly happy with his positioning, and Hojlund as well. So there's a lot of stuff that needs a little bit of work," SportBible quoted him as saying.
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The third player who caused headaches for Amorim from United's right-back Diogo Dalot. Under Amorim's 3-4-2-1 formation, Dalot operated as an LMF and the manager had issues with the fellow Portugese's positioning. Owen Hargreaves reportedly claimed that Dalot's positioning, especially in the first half, frustrated the manager.
Amorim's Manchester United are next in action on Thursday against Bodo-Glimt in the Europa League.
