Man United 3-2 Bodo/Glimt: Ruben Amorim wins first game at Old Trafford since replacing Erik ten Hag thanks to Rasmus Hojlund double in tense Europa League victory

Manchester United is moving at pace under Ruben Amorim. Quick goals, quick changes and, it seems, quick results.

The man who turned Viktor Gyokeres into one of Europe’s most popular strikers at Sporting Lisbon has already had a remarkable impact on another Scandinavian striker just a week after joining Rasmus Hojlund.

Here at Old Trafford, in Amorim’s first home game as head coach, Hojlund scored two goals and grabbed an assist to see off Bodo/Glimt’s challenge and lift United above the Norwegians in the Europa League to 12th place.

The Dane has struggled to justify his £72million price tag under Erik ten Hag, but the hope within United’s hierarchy is that he will be one of the players to benefit most from Amorim’s arrival.

Enough to convince United not to pursue Gyiokeres? We’ll see. But the early signs are promising, as Hojlund used his physicality to the max to give Amorim his first win.

If only it didn’t always look like this. After taking the lead again after a few seconds, United found themselves trailing before Hojlund led the charge with goals either side of half-time.

Defeat would not only have been the worst possible outcome for Amorim’s Old Trafford arc, but also quite embarrassing for a club that has just increased ticket prices for fans without warning or explanation. Losing to Bodo/Glimt would hardly have been the best justification.

As it was, a 3-2 win provided plenty of entertainment, if not some rather uncomfortable memories of those crazy European nights under Ten Hag.

Amorim had promised to rotate his squad to give as many players playing time as possible to familiarize themselves with his philosophy, and the new head coach wasn’t kidding.

There were a total of six changes from his first game at Ipswich on Sunday. Tyrell Malacia – making his first appearance for United in 18 months – and Antony were given the wing-back roles in Amorim’s 3-4-3 formation, either side of Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte.

Lisandro Martinez returned to partner Matthijs De Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in the back three, while Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho formed the front three.

It can be seen as a high-risk strategy when so many players are learning on the job, but Amorim believes it is better to make changes immediately rather than wait until next summer when he can sign players who are more suitable for the roles. He admits his players will ‘suffer’, but it’s short-term pain for long-term gain and that was felt again here last night.

“We need to change players to be fresh, not to prepare for the other games, but to be competitive today,” he said before kick-off. ‘We are somewhere at the beginning, so every player counts, and we have to show that.’

Bodo/Glimt also made some changes with one eye on Sunday’s match against Lillestrom and the opportunity to secure a fourth title in five years. The team based 200 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle started joint four places above United in the Europa League and proved once again that they are no slouch.

The 6,500 fans who had followed them to Manchester in the middle of the Norwegian winter were able to enjoy some daylight and temperatures that were above freezing, albeit only just.

It would have been less lenient for the man from Lisbon, but at least Amorim received a warm welcome from Old Trafford as he walked out of the tunnel for his first home game.

Bemvindo a casa, declared as a banner in United colors in the Stretford End. Welcome home. Things were about to get even better for Amorim. After seeing his team take the lead after 80 seconds in Ipswich, this time he only had to wait 48 seconds.

Jostein Gundersen played a back pass to goalkeeper Nikita Haikin and Hojlund pressed, just as Amorim wants.

Haikin foolishly decided to hold the ball and Hojlund saw his opportunity, sliding in to block and then cleverly using his body to prevent the keeper from reaching the loose ball. Garnacho had the simplest task of tapping into an empty net.

United could only hold the lead at Portman Road at half-time and here it only lasted until the 19th minute.

Jens Petter Hauge divided them with an excellent through ball and Sondre Brunstad Fet put Hakon Evjen on edge and shot past Andre Onana into the top corner.

Amorim shook his head briefly on the sidelines, while Kjetil Knutsen led the festivities next to him. As mediocre as United have been over the past decade, there is still a sense of shock when teams like Bodo/Glimt score at Old Trafford.

Four minutes later it turned to disbelief. Haikin rolled the ball to Brice Wambangomo who fed Patrick Berg, and his blind, first-time pass set up Philip Zinckernagel to the right in a race with Malacia.

The Dutch’s lack of fitness and pace was brutally exposed when Zinckernagel accelerated freely and fired the ball past Onana. Was it the right decision to start Malacia after such a long absence? It certainly felt like the decision had backfired and he was replaced by Diogo Dalot at the break.

Evjen could have made it three before United equalized just before half-time. Mazraoui deserves a lot of credit for breaking off a counter-attack and then beating two men before heading to the edge of the six-yard box. Hojlund was marked by two men, but his first touch brought the ball under control and the second was a clever volley into the corner.

Garnacho had already hit the crossbar before Hojlund claimed his second goal of the match in the 50th minute. The build-up was quick and sharp, with Mount firing Mazraoui’s pass into the path of Ugarte. The Uruguayan’s low cross picked out Hojlund in front of goal and he was always going to be too strong for Odin Bjortuft as he outwitted the defender to score from close range.

Garnacho missed three clear chances to increase the lead and United almost paid the price when Dalot’s poor back pass allowed the visitors in and Onana had to come into midfield to make a crucial tackle on Hauge.

It was enough to give Amorim its first victory on a night when Hojlund was the hero.