Ruben Amorim was touched by his special Old Trafford welcome and said he already feels a sense of belonging after overseeing a helter-skelter first victory as Manchester United head coach.
Having kicked off his reign with Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at promoted Ipswich, the 39-year-old Portuguese led the side out on home soil for the first time in Thursday’s Europa League group win over Norway’s Bodo/Glimt.
United got off to a blistering start as Alejandro Garnacho capitalised on goalkeeper Nikita Haikin’s early error, only for Bodo to take a shock lead through Hakon Evjen and Philip Zinckernagel goals.
Manchester United celebrate a blistering start in the Europa League in Amorim’s first home game in charge
Rasmus Hojlund equalised with a fine volley just before the break and scored another shortly after half-time to secure a 3-2 triumph and Amorim’s first win on his first Old Trafford outing.
“It was special because half of the stadium doesn’t know me,” the United head coach said. “You can say I came from Portugal, and half of the stadium doesn’t know me.
“I have done nothing for this club yet, but the way they support me in the beginning, I felt that I’m not alone.
“I’m like one of them now, and it was really special. I hope not to disappoint my supporters.
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Anton Toloui reflects on Amorim’s first victory as Manchester United manager
“I think we improve different things since the last game. I know it’s a different competition, different team, but we improve with the ball.
“We control the tempo more with the ball, we push the team a little bit more higher, we create more chances.
“We should kill the game before the end. You suffer two transitions. I think we need to improve on that because it was like runs, it was like a physical thing, one against one.
“You have to improve on that, but I like some things that the team did today.”
Amorim on how Hojlund must improve
Amorim made six alterations from Sunday’s Premier League draw at Ipswich, including bringing Hojlund into the starting line-up.
The 21-year-old striker has not shone consistently since joining from Atalanta in 2023 and doubled his tally for the season with a pair of impressive finishes against Bodo.
“I think he improved the connection,” Amorim said of Hojlund. “I think he has to improve more because sometimes he gives too many touches when he holds the ball.
“But it’s very important for us because when we are in the low block he is the guy to hold the ball. It connects for transitions. He did that very well, he has that characteristics.
“He was aggressive in the goals, he was aggressive in the box and he’s a quality player.
“I think he scores the most difficult goals, so he has a lot to improve, as is the same for every player, but he did a great job today.”
How Amorim adapted to win his first game
Amorim took charge of his first Manchester United game at Old Trafford against Bodo/Glimt
Sky Sports’ Zinny Boswell:
Amorim warned that his team would have to suffer as they adapt to his new system and that came to fruition against Bodo/Glimt as Norway’s champions exposed some glaring holes.
Although the pressing of the team was far more impressive with Hojlund and Mason Mount in the front three, there were problems further back in defence.
Amorim wants his right and left centre-backs to push right up to win the ball high in midfield, but the other players appeared unclear about what their responsibilities were in these moments.
For Evjen’s pinpoint equaliser, Mazraoui had pressed up to try and regain the ball, forcing Ugarte to cover which left a hole on the edge of the box that should have been filled by Bruno Fernandes, operating further back than at Ipswich.
It was too late when he realised the amount of space on the edge of the box for Evjen, who found the top corner.
Then for the second Lisandro Martinez was deep in the opposition half, leaving Tyrell Malacia one-vs-one against Zinckernagel. The returning defender, who had a head start, was left for dead. All it took was a long ball over the top to expose the gap.
Hojlund’s first goal, the equaliser that made it 2-2, was an example of this strategy working to perfection. United were high up the pitch and lost the ball, but Mazraoui stepped up to intercept and ended the move as the provider.
Diogo Dalot was brought on at the break for the Malacia, making his first appearance for United for 550 days, after he was exposed for Bodo’s second.
United remained in a back three in possession, Dalot coming inside almost as a No 10, but reverted to a back four without the ball to address the problems that led to the Norwegian champions picking the hosts apart in the first half.
It was not plain sailing from thereon out, but United were markedly improved. Amorim is experiencing teething problems but showed enough adaptability to get over the line for his first win.
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