Man Utd confirmed their most influential player vs Ipswich as teammate failed to respond to Amorim

A defensive disaster

It didn’t take long for Ipswich Town to pile more misery on Manchester United as they scored the easiest goal they will grab all season. Patrick Dorgu completely misread a hopeful long ball over the top and incomprehensibly played the ball beyond a needlessly erratic Andre Onana. Whether the defender or the goalkeeper was to blame was almost inconsequential, United fell behind due to yet another individual error.

Ruben Amorim has to take a lot of the blame for United’s poor form under him, but he does deserve some sympathy when every performance is littered with individual errors and awful decision-making. It is understood the Portuguese head coach is not convinced by any of his goalkeeping options at the club and signing a new one could become an increasing priority this summer. That’s if he is still in charge of sanctioning such a move.

Set-piece special

A lot has been made of United’s questionable set-piece record under Amorim, especially because they technically employ two set-piece specialists. Andreas Georgson stayed on after Erik ten Hag was sacked but was effectively replaced by coach Carlos Fernandes, who took up the responsibility.

Fernandes entered the technical area whenever United had a set-piece and saw two training ground routines pay off as United turned the first-half on its head. First, a drilled effort from namesake Bruno Fernandes was converted into the back of the net by Ipswich captain Sam Morsy, before Matthijs de Ligt gave them the lead when he turned in a rebound from a Fernandes corner kick. It got even better after the restart when Harry Maguire converted from another Fernandes corner to give them an unlikely three points.

At a time when United are struggling to score from open play, posing a threat from set-pieces will ease those concerns.

Dorgu sees red

Patrick Dorgu might insist he wasn’t to blame for the opening goal, but he could have no complaints about the reckless red card that saw his team reduced to 10 men late in the first-half. The 20-year-old had responded well to his early mistake and helped win the corner for their second goal of the match, though that hard work was undone when he was given his marching order for a tough challenge on Omari Hutchinson.

Dorgu was perhaps guilty of being too emotional after Hutchinson had gone in hard on him earlier and this was a harsh lesson of the composure and mentality required to be a success at Old Trafford.

It is obvious the January signing is a very raw player and Amorim has a lot of work to do if he is to help him fulfil the enormous quality he has at his disposal. He won’t be able to do it for the next three domestic matches though.

United’s most influential player

There were questions asked of where Bruno Fernandes would fit into an Amorim side. He still might not be the perfect fit, but he is still indispensable under the new head coach.

Fernandes set unrealistic standards when he arrived at the club with a freakish run of goals and assists that are now cited in criticism against him. Indeed, the 30-year-old does not pose the same goal threat as he used to, but he is still just as influential to a United side lacking ideas.

He directly set up two goals against Ipswich on Wednesday night and played a key role in the second with a corner kick that was eventually bundled into the back of the net. It means the last six United goals have now originated from a Fernandes set-piece, further evidence of his continued importance to this team.

Rasmus Hojlund fails to respond to Ruben Amorim challenge

Speaking on the eve of the match, Amorim backed under-fire striker Rasmus Hojlund and insisted it was down to the team to give him better service rather than any specific issue with the player. That backing did little to inspire him against Ipswich.

Hojlund cut an isolated figure in the United forward line and never troubled the Ipswich defence. His poor performance was summed up in one bizarre second-half moment when he dummied a cross into the box rather than taking a shot, which only highlighted how little confidence he has at the moment.

It is now 17 matches across all competitions since Hojlund last found the back of the net and Amorim simply can’t keep using him much longer. Chido Obi might be a teenager, but he is at least something different.

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