Ruben Amorim was impressed by his special Old Trafford welcome and said he already felt a sense of belonging after watching his impressive first win as Manchester United head coach.
Promoted After beginning his reign with a 1-1 Premier League draw at Ipswich on Sunday, the 39-year-old Portuguese captained the side for the first time on home soil in victory over Norway’s Bodø/Glimt in the Europa League group on Thursday.
United got off to a strong start when Alejandro Garnacho took advantage of an early mistake by goalkeeper Nikita Häykin, but Bodø took a surprise lead through goals from Haakon Evgen and Philipp Zinkernagel.
Rasmus Hjolund equalized with a fine volley just before the break and added another goal shortly after half-time to seal a 3–2 win and Amorim’s first win in his first Old Trafford outing.
“It was special because half the people in the stadium don’t know me,” the United head coach said. “You can say I come from Portugal, and half the stadium doesn’t know me.
“I haven’t done anything for this club yet, but the way they supported me in the beginning made me feel like I’m not alone.
“I’m like one of them now, and it was really special. I hope I don’t let my supporters down.”
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Anton Toloui reflects on Amorim’s first win as Manchester United manager
“I think we’ve improved on different things since the last game. I know it’s a different competition, different team, but we improved with the ball.
“We control the pace with the ball more, we push the team up a bit more, we create more chances.
“We’ve got to finish the game before the end. You’ve got to face two turnovers. I think we need to improve on that because it was like runs, it was like a physical thing, one versus one. .
“You have to improve, but I like some things the team did today.”
Amorim on how Hjolund must improve
Amorim made six changes from Sunday’s Premier League draw at Ipswich, including bringing Hjolund into the starting line-up.
The 21-year-old striker has not shone consistently since joining Atalanta in 2023 and doubled his tally for the season with an impressive finish against Bodo.
“I think he has improved the connections,” Amorim said of Hjolund. “I think he has to improve more because sometimes he gives too many touches when he catches the ball.
“But it’s very important for us because when we’re in the low block he’s the guy to catch the ball. It adds up to the change. He does it very well, he’s got those attributes.
“He was aggressive in goal, he was aggressive in the box and he is a quality player.
“I think he scores the hardest goals, so he has a lot to improve, as is the same for every player, but he did a very good job today.”
How Amorim adapted to win his first game
Amorim takes charge of his first Manchester United game at Old Trafford against Bodo/Glimt
Sky Sports’ Zinni Boswell:
Amorim warned that his team would suffer as they adapted to their new system and it came to fruition against Bodø/Glimt as the Norwegian champions exposed some glaring flaws.
Although the pressure on the team was much more effective with Hjolund and Mason Mount in the front three, there were more problems in defence.
Amorim wanted his right and left centre-backs to push the right up to get the ball high in midfield, but the other players seemed unclear about what their responsibilities were in these moments.
For Evgeny’s pinpoint equaliser, Mazraoui was pressed to try to regain the ball, forcing Ugarte to cover, leaving a hole on the edge of the box that must be filled by Bruno Fernandes. Which was leading compared to Ipswich.
It was too late when he realized how much space there was on the edge of the box for Evgeny, who found the top corner.
Then for the second Lisandro Martínez was deep in the opposition half, leading to a Tyrell Malacia one-on-one against Zinkernagel. The returning defender, who had made a good start, was left for dead. All it took was a long ball from the top to reveal the difference.
Höglund’s first goal, the equalizer that made the score 2–2, was an example of this strategy working perfectly. United were high up the pitch and lost the ball, but Mazraoui stepped up to intercept and finish the move as the provider.
After Bodo’s second appearance Diogo Delot was brought on at the break for the Malaysian, making his first appearance for United in 550 days.
United remained in possession of a back three, with Dalot coming in almost as a number 10, but dropped back into a back four without the ball to address the problems that caused the Norwegian champions to tear the hosts apart in the first half.
It hasn’t been easy since then, but United have clearly improved. Amorim is facing early problems but has shown enough adaptability to get over the line for his first win.
