- Man United drew 1-1 against Ipswich in Ruben Amorim’s first match
- He reportedly rated his team’s performance at Portman Road out of 10
- Liverpool correspondent LEWIS STEELE tells all in bombshell chat with Mo Salah – LISTEN NOW It all starts! New episodes every Monday and Thursday
Ruben Amorim’s true thoughts on Manchester United’s performance in the 1-1 draw against Ipswich have been revealed.
The Portuguese boss took charge of his first match since replacing Erik ten Hag on Sunday, and the Red Devils got off to a perfect start as Marcus Rashford put them ahead inside two minutes.
But they were held back by a deflected attack from Omari Hutchinson as Amorim and his team had to settle for a point.
According to The sunSince then, Amorim has rated his team’s performance with a score of 10, and has no doubt that there is still plenty of room for improvement.
“Amorim said their performance was a five out of 10,” a source told The Sun.
‘He criticized one or two players for losing the ball and not being in the right position. But he also said, “Some of you I’ve had for two days, some of you for two weeks,” so he was realistic.
Ruben Amorim has reportedly given his Man United player a five out of ten for his performance in Ipswich
United were held to a 1–1 draw at Portman Road in Amorim’s first match in charge
“He did say they had to learn quickly.”
Amorim immediately used his favorite 3-4-3 formation at Portman Road instead of the 4-2-3-1 system that Ten Hag had often adopted.
Jamie Carragher analyzed Sunday’s match on Monday Night Football and pointed out a number of ‘weaknesses’ that Amorim will need to address if he is to turn United’s fortunes around.
‘I hear from many managers, including Reuben Amorim saying that systems don’t matter much. I believe it is, no matter how many times managers tell me it isn’t, because why are you playing a different system? Different systems give you different things in different areas,” Carragher said.
‘For me the weaknesses are in these spaces, on either side of the two central midfielders. The reason for this is that if you play a conventional back four, your wide man can cut in and help.
“But because you play a back three, when they get the ball they naturally go wider and wing backs get wider and higher.
‘It means there is a lot more space around these two central midfielders, especially if the two attacking tens don’t drop back. The same problems were also present on the Ipswich side.
‘The big problem is: should a midfielder come along to fill that space, or should a central defender be added?
Amorim immediately implemented his 3-4-3 formation against Ipswich, but Jamie Carragher believes there are ‘weaknesses’ that the new United boss must already address
“We were listening to Ruben Amorim after the game and he talked a lot about Jonny Evans not making the jump into space to pick a guy up. Because they played the same system, it almost became a man-to-man game. Football has become that.’
Amorim will have little time on the training pitch to convey his philosophy to his players, with the fixtures fast approaching in the run-up to Christmas.
His first game at Old Trafford will come on Thursday when United take on Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League, and they will host Everton three days later.
Trips to Arsenal and local rivals Manchester City also await in December, while a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Tottenham is just a matter of weeks away, giving Amorim an early chance of securing silverware at United.