Postpublished at 78 mins
Ipswich 1-1 Man Utd
Joshua Zirkzee makes space for himself outside the Ipswich box before going for glory...that's heading towards Norwich.
Manchester United had to settle for a point at Ipswich in Ruben Amorim's first game in charge despite striker Marcus Rashford providing the perfect start with his 81-second opener.
Omari Hutchinson levelled for Ipswich before the break, with United keeper Andre Onana twice denying Liam Delap with stunning saves.
It was a disappointing outcome for Amorim as his side struggled to contain Ipswich at times and found the home defence in defiant mood when it did seem an opportunity would come.
Skipper Bruno Fernandes flashed a late free-kick wide but Ipswich fully deserved their point and without Onana would have had more.
Amorim's bold wing-back choice Amad Diallo provided the low cross that Rashford converted for his fifth goal of the season. It was the England forward's first goal in the Premier League since September and ended his eight-game barren streak in all competitions.
Ipswich grew into the game though and created by far the better chances, only to find Onana in outstanding form.
Star fan and minority shareholder Ed Sheeran did have something to celebrate though as Hutchison's curling shot flicked off Noussair Mazraoui's head and over Onana for his first goal since joining Ipswich permanently in a £20m summer move.
The result means United remain in the bottom half of the Premier League after 12 games, while Ipswich are in the relegation zone, behind Wolves on goal difference after their win at Fulham.
Rashford also scored a quick goal in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first game, netting three minutes in at Cardiff after the Norwegian had replaced Jose Mourinho in December 2018.
This effort was even quicker and must have been satisfying for Amorim given he had trusted Amad with the right wing-back berth in his new formation and picked Rashford ahead of Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee in the key central striking berth.
The visitors did have other opportunities. Alejandro Garnacho curled an effort narrowly wide and Diogo Dalot darted into the penalty area to meet Casemiro's angled pass.
Unlike in the West Ham defeat that triggered Ten Hag's dismissal, when he blazed over from a similar position with the goal at his mercy, this time Dalot kept his shot on target. But it lacked the power to test Arijanet Muric.
But it was not a smooth United performance by any means and Onana had arguably been the visitors' key man even before Ipswich equalised.
The Cameroon international's first save to deny Delap was stunning. Leif Davis waited until just the right moment before playing the pass to Delap, who only had the United goalkeeper to beat.
Onana didn't just stop the shot. He also had enough power to push the ball away to safety rather than present Ipswich with a rebound.
His second-half save was just as important as Delap got to Wes Burns' low cross first and flicked the ball towards goal with the back of his foot from barely two yards. Onana's reactions were up to the task.
In attack, United were lightweight. Garnacho sprinted into the penalty area but looked as though he was trying to play a square pass to Rashford before Jens Cajuste slid in to rob the Argentine.
Amorim tried to shake things up with a series of second-half substitutions but other than Fernandes' free-kick, his side did not threaten.
The noise at the final whistle and the reaction to the lap of honour from the home players that followed was the response of fans who had every reason to be delighted with their side's performance.
Take away the first 90 seconds and Ipswich could claim to be the better side.
They were the ones who carried the greater threat and had the better chances. They also worked tirelessly when the game hit a flat spot in the middle of the second half, denying United a second wind Amorim must have hoped his changes would trigger.
Their determination was epitomised by Dara O'Shea, who threw himself in the way of a Fernandes shot, which probably would not have tested Muric anyway.
Together with Delap, Hutchison was a repeated threat to the visitors' goal, exploiting familiar gaps in front of the United defence.
Two weeks ago, Ipswich won at Tottenham. With this result and performance following it, manager Kieran McKenna has every reason to believe his side can aim higher than mere safety this season, despite their present position.
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 31 |
| |
2 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 23 |
| |
3 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 22 |
| |
4 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 22 |
| |
5 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 5 | 22 |
| |
6 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 27 | 13 | 14 | 19 |
| |
7 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 13 | 2 | 19 |
| |
8 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| |
9 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 18 |
| |
10 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 18 |
| |
11 | 12 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 17 |
| |
12 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| |
13 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 | 17 | -1 | 15 |
| |
14 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 19 | -6 | 12 |
| |
15 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 11 |
| |
16 | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 | 23 | -8 | 10 |
| |
17 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 20 | 28 | -8 | 9 |
| |
18 | 12 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 9 |
| |
19 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 17 | -7 | 8 |
| |
20 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 9 | 24 | -15 | 4 |
|
Manager: Kieran McKenna
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Ruben Amorim
Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1
Manager: Kieran McKenna
Formation: 4 - 2 - 3 - 1
Manager: Ruben Amorim
Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1
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Ipswich have lost four of their last five Premier League games against Man Utd (D1), failing to score in each defeat. This is their first such meeting since a 1-0 home loss in April 2002.
Manchester United won their last away league game against Ipswich (1-0 in April 2002). Only once in their league history have they won consecutive visits to Portman Road, doing so in 1962/1963.
After their first Premier League win of the season last time out away to Tottenham, Ipswich are looking to earn back-to-back wins in the competition for the first time since February 2002 (a run of four that started with a 2-1 win against Tottenham).
Manchester United have won 17 of their last 19 Premier League games against newly promoted opponents (D2) since a 4-1 loss at Watford in November 2021. Away from home, they have won their last nine league games at promoted sides; in English top-flight history, only Chelsea have won 10+ away matches in succession against such opponents (21 in a row from October 2002 to November 2008).
Ipswich are the only side without a home win in the Premier League this season (P5 D3 L2). Only five newly promoted sides have failed to win their opening six home matches of a Premier League campaign, all of which went on to be relegated: Swindon Town in 1993-94, Crystal Palace in 1997-98, Norwich City in 2004-05, Sunderland in 2005-06, and Burnley in 2023-24.
Ipswich have had the fewest shots (108), shots on target (33), touches in the opposition’s box (199), and expected goals (10.2) of any side in the Premier League in 2024-25.
This will be Rúben Amorim’s first match in charge of Manchester United. Aged 39 years and 302 days on the day of this game, he’s the youngest to take charge of his first match for the Red Devils since Wilf McGuinness in August 1969 (31y 288d).
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has made 137 passes which have broken the opposition’s offside line in the Premier League this season, at least 15 more than any other player.
Liam Delap has scored six of Ipswich’s 12 league goals this season, and is one of only three players to have scored at least half of his side’s Premier League goals this term along with Erling Haaland for Man City (55% - 12/22), and Chris Wood for Nottingham Forest (53% - 8/15).
Alejandro Garnacho has been directly involved in 20 Premier League goals for Manchester United (13 goals, 7 assists), one of only two non-British players to reach that figure for the Red Devils before turning 21, along with Cristiano Ronaldo (25 – 14 goals, 11 assists).