Manchester United 3-2 Bodø/Glimt: Europa League – as it happened | Europa League

Thank you very much for joining me.

Here is Jamie Jackson’s report from Old Trafford.

Amorim: “I see what everyone sees. Good moments, difficult moments, some confusion in the end trying to keep the result. They ran, they pressed, they showed us what we had worked on. We won.

“Half of the stadium does not know me, I came from Portugal, I did nothing for this club yet, so the way they made me feel at home is so special. I will keep this to the end of my career.

“It was like a ride. We started well and then suffered two goals in two transitions. I liked that our players tried to play in the way we wanted. The players are really trying, I think we deserved to win.

“Bruno is the most experienced player and is the right man to start the tempo we want to play.

“I get anxious because I do not know what will happen. We control nothing at the moment but we are trying different things. We go to the game excited because we want to see different things but you are also nervous but you do not see how it will go.

“We did four substitutions because of the fitness of the squad. We need all the players fit.”

Rasmus Hojlund: “I think it was a bad start, we came back and showed character. We want to make sure these games don’t get too difficult.

“He [Amorim] told me today, not to think too much about the guys behind and try to work on what I can see in front. We saw that on the first goal.

“I’ve been told by the others that it [first goal] was very good, so I will go home and see it again.

“It will take time but we can already see some patterns and it will get better. It is for us to build on this. This system reminds me of how I played at Atalanta – it suits me very well.”

Amorim gets down the tunnel as quickly as possible. He will love the collection of TV interviews he has to do.

A Bodo players has just swapped shirts with Antony. What a treat for him.

United just about hold on for a vital first win under Amorim. It was not exactly convincing but they needed this.

90+2 mins: Berg steps up and it is heading for the top corner but Onana makes a fine save to keep United ahead.

90+1 mins: Bodo have a free-kick on the edge of the box after a Casemiro handball.

90 mins: Three minutes added on.

88 mins: United doing their best to keep the ball but they give it away, allowing Bodo to swing a cross into the box. Hoge produces a fine header and Onana has to make the save. The assistant puts his flag up, despite the striker clearly being onside.

“Bodo/Glint was a 1995 B-side by The Fall,” suggests Steven Hughes.

86 mins: Bodo reach the United box but Maata cross is ferociously cleared to the halfway line. United will not want to let this lead slip.

84 mins: Amad expertly plucks the ball out of the sky and initiates an attack. What a fine first touch. Admittedly, it comes to nothing.

82 mins: Rashford has the chance to end this as a contest but he fires his shot across goal and wide.

Auklend is the final Bodo sub sent on. Evjen off.

80 mins: The game is quite open now. Bodo have opened up as the look for the equaliser.

78 mins: Mac Millings emails: “Just catching up with the MBM, and was shocked to read the phrase ‘Zinckernagel outpaces Malacia’. Is Malacia okay? Is he, perhaps, wearing boots of molasses on a dare? Having watched young Philip for 18 months at Watford, I cannot picture a scenario in which he could outpace anybody. He’s so slow, his shadow leaves him behind. Etc.”

It is worth pointing out that Malacia has not played in 550 days or something.

76 mins: Onana sprints 25 yards or so out of his goal and loses the ball to Hoge. The goalkeeper somehow recovers and United clear down the pitch. In the end, the ball reaches Garnacho but he fires over. A silly few seconds.

74 mins: Hojlund controls a ball over the top from Dalot and lays it off to Garnacho but the winger drags his shot wide.

Malcolm Shuttleworth is back: “The good news is my German girlfriend has woken up. When I put it to her that she should read your blog, she quipped, quite wittily I thought, ‘I’d rather powder my nose with a garlicky sauerkraut dip!’

“I must admit, it loses a lot in translation…”

Can you send us evidence of her using said dip.

72 mins: Saltnes and Maata on for Bodo. Can they get back into this?

Kevin emails: “But everyone knows Bodo/Glimt as the faded ‘70s prog rock band. A difficult time after their front man left saw albums such as ‘Muddle’ and the surprisingly successful ‘Dark Side of the Mourinho’. A lot now hangs on their latest offering: ‘Shine on you crazy diamond formation’…”

70 mins: Hauge is the net one to threaten and he does get a proper shot away but Onana drops on it.

Down the other end … Amad cuts in from the right and takes aim for the far corner but Haikin is equal to it.

68 mins: Bodo/Glimt have not threatened in this half thus far but Sjovold gets round the back of the United defence and puts in a cross that is dealt with.

66 mins: Fernandes looks like he is about to control a pass over the top and be one-on-one with the goalkeeper but the United skipper falls over at the vital moment.

Final sub for United … Casemiro is on for De Ligt. One assumes the Brazilian is about to drop into the centre of the back three. This is a like a pre-season game.

64 mins: Hogh and Sjovold are on for Bodo. The former is now up top and latter at right-back.

62 mins: The triple change results in United playing 3-4-3 again. What larks.

Elina Rye-Onsaker emails: “Greetings from Norway! (Though much more south than Bodø). Listening to this match on radio, as I’m a student without a TV, and the Norwegian commentator mentioned how there are 45.000 members in the Norwegian Manchester United supporters club. Bodø has a population of 53.000.”

The power of Henning Berg.

60 mins: Antony, Mount and Martinez head off. Shaw looks like he will play at centre back.

58 mins: Rashford and Amad are readying themselves. Luke Shaw is about to remove his woolly hat and snood, too.

56 mins: “Do people really think footballers are jigsaw pieces which cannot adapt to a different position?” asks Ben Hennessy. “Surely professional athletes can learn a different system given time to train. 135 minutes into Amorim’s stint and people are already crucifying his preferred formation.”

It is quite a change from Ten Hag to this. One problem Amorim has is a lack of time on the training ground with United playing twice a week for the foreseeable.

54 mins: Clearly there are some problems with this system but I have not seen United look so threatening going forward for a while. Garnacho is the latest to have a chance, flying down the left and driving into the box but his curling shot is well saved by Haikin.

A fine move and finish. Mount steps over a pass and Ugarte pings a cross which Hojlund turns home inside the six-yard box. There is a long VAR check but the striker is just on.

50 mins: “Greetings from Leverkusen,” says Malcolm Shuttleworth. “My German girlfriend fell asleep before United’s first goal and hasn’t woken up yet. Maybe she has better judgement than me.”

Wait! She isn’t reading the blog?!

49 mins: OFF THE BAR! Mount does well to manipulate the ball after receiving a pass inside the box from Garnacho but the former Chelsea man sees his shot ping off the top of the bar.

47 mins: It looks like Amorim has changed tactics. Four at the back with Mazraoui at right back and Dalot on the left. It is something akin to a 4-2-3-1.

Here we go again!

Dalot replaces Malacia at half time.

Krishnamoorthy says: “Poor Amorim – must be looking for fresh offers already. I honestly can’t understand why someone would inherit this mess.”

“Is it just me who thinks Bodo/Glimt sound like a couple of characters from Lord of the Rings?” Richard Hirst is asking the wrong man. I will put it to the floor instead.

Rob Hisnay emails: “So, a team steeped in 4 at the back and attacking wingers suddenly has to adapt to 3-4-3? The current team can’t play that system. Just fitting square pegs into round holes. Because of Ten Hag’s horrible transfers there’s little money to now go out and buy players who can play a 3-4-3.

“The mess continues!”

Half-time reading:

We are level after an intriguing first 45. United look confused with the new system and Bodo have taken advantage are key moments.

GOAL! Mazraoui chips a cross into the box, Hojlund takes a wonderful first touches and volleys into the corner despite having little room to work with.

A sublime finish!

43 mins: Garnacho wins a corner on the left. Mount goes over to take it. The cross beats everyone but Bjortuft gets confused and needless flicks it out for another. Malacia is the man to take it from the right … but it’s cleared.

41 mins: United are having a decent spell of possession but are struggling to find a gap in the Bodo defence. The Norwegians have 11 men behind the ball.

Antony shows a bit of skill on the right to beat a man and lay a pass off. Malacia sends a pass to Fernandes but his shot is weak.

Haikin is eventually called into action when a defender turns a Garnacho cross towards his own goal.

39 mins: Malacia dinks a cross to the back post but is actually closer to sneaking in than find a teammate.

Savage is just repeatedly pointing out he should have a job higher up …

37 mins: Amorim is offering out a lot of instruction on the touchline. Savage says Amorim needs 18 months to sort this mess of a team out. Good luck, Ruben.

35 mins: Robbie Savage is spending his time on co-comms explaining how none of the United team are suited to playing in this formation. It is quite entertaining from Savage (for once).

33 mins: Antony has a chance to run at Gundersen but goes straight into the defender before falling over. He does get up and keeps the ball, only to see his shot blocked.

31 mins: Hojlund is certainly putting in the hard yards to put the Bodo centre-backs under plenty of pressure. He almost catches Bjortuft out but the defender gets the ball back to the goalkeeper just in time.

Helmersen is booked for a foul on Fernandes. It seems a little harsh for a first offence.

29 mins: Bodo/Glimt certainly know their roles. Knutsen has them well-trained, although it helps that he has been coaching them for years.