Ruben Amorim given Man Utd wake-up call as Ipswich show boss work he has to do

Ruben Amorim described himself as a dreamer ahead of his first game as Manchester United boss.

And this proved to be a sobering wake-up call for the newly-appointed United head coach, as his new charges laboured their way to a draw at Portman Road.

If Amorim had any doubts about the scale of the task he faces in trying to resurrect United, this showed just how much work lies ahead for him and his coaching staff.

With only three training sessions with his full United squad, it was unreasonable to expect an immediate transformation under the 39-year-old Portuguese coach.

But after a dream start to his reign, with a goal inside the first two minutes, United's players reverted to type, showcasing the shortcomings that have left them mired in the bottom half of the table.

While they looked more solid and compact than they did under Erik ten Tag, they offered little in the way of attacking threat, aside from Marcus Rashford's early strike.

Amorim promised evolution rather than revolution, stating his first starting line-up would be familiar in composition, but different in terms of formation and tactical approach.

The United coach was true to his word, picking familiar personnel to Ten Hag and interim coach Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The difference was in the set-up, United starting with Amorim's favoured back three, supported by wing-backs, with a central midfield duo and two narrow attackers behind the striker.

Amorim was handed the perfect start, with United taking the lead after 80 seconds, with a superbly-constructed goal that underlined the fresh approach and ideas of the new boss in charge.

Playing the ball out from the back, a policy that was abandoned under Ten Hag, Amad found himself in possession on the right flank and surged forward, skipping challenges like a hurdler.

Amad looked up and picked out Rashford with a teasing cross, the United striker getting to the ball ahead of Ipswich keeper Aro Muric and poking it past him into the net.

While the United bench jumped up in celebration, along with the 3,000-strong section of away fans, Amorim stood expressionless, taking a swig of water from a bottle before returning to his seat.

Yet the early goal did not provide United with a platform to build on their lead, with the hosts showing impressive character and endeavour in their bid to get back on level terms.

Sammie Szmodics scooped a shot over the bar, while he came close again minutes later, Andre Onana diving down low to his right to keep out a goal-bound effort from the Ipswich attacker.

Onana produced a contender for save of the season five minutes before the break, blocking a shot at point-blank range from Liam Delap, after a swift and incisive counter-attack from Ipswich.

The stunning save with his right hand drew applause from Amorin and chants of Onana's name from the travelling United fans, but their joy turned to despair moments later.

Omari Hutchinson, Ipswich's most effective and dangerous player, collected the ball just outside the United area and turned swiftly before unleashing a curling left-foot shot.

Onana set himself to dive, but a deflection off the head of United defender Moussair Mazraoui altered the flight of the ball, sending it spinning over him and into the net behind him.

It was a deserved equaliser for the hosts, who had been the better side from midway through the first-half, and a reminder to Amorim of the scale of the task he faces at United.

Delap was denied by Onana again, seven minutes after the restart, the United keeper getting an outstretched leg to divert the forward's clever goal-bound flick.

Thereafter the game petered out, with neither side looking like conjuring a winner.

Ipswich (4-2-3-1): Muric 6; Tuanzebe 7, O'Shea 7, Burgess 7, Davis 5; Morsy 7, Cajuste 7 (Taylor 65, 6); Burns 7 (Al-Hamadi, 82), Hutchinson 8, Szmodics 7 (Clarke 65, 6); Delap 7 Chaplin, 82)

Man Utd (3-4-2-1): Onana 8; Mazraoui 6, De Ligt 6, Evans 6 (Shaw 56, 6); Dalot 5, Eriksen 5 (Zirkzee 67, 4), Casemiro 5 (Ugarte 56, 5), Amad 7; Fernandes 5, Garnacho 5 (Mount, 88); Rashford 6 (Hojlund 67, 6)

MOTM: Omari Hutchinson

REFEREE: Anthony Taylor