Rasmus Hojlund scored twice to hand Ruben Amorim his first victory at Manchester United as they came from behind to beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League at Old Trafford.
Hojlund perhaps would have had a hat-trick had he not been pulled down by the Norwegian side’s goalkeeper Nikita Haikan after dispossessing him inside a minute – but Alejandro Garnacho was on hand to fire in the opener to give Amorim another dream start.
United dropped off, just as they had done at Ipswich, and Bodo/Glimt capitalised, exposing holes in the back three as Hakon Evjen and Filip Zinckernagel struck twice in four first-half minutes to turn the game on its head.
Amorim’s relief was evident when Hojlund struck a right-footed volley into the bottom corner just before half-time to bring United level at the break, but the Portuguese was clearly unhappy with the first-half performance as he made a subtle tactical tweak.
Diogo Dalot was brought on at the break for the returning Tyrell Malacia, making his first appearance for United for 550 days, after he was exposed for Bodo/Glimt’s second goal in a foot race with Zinckernagel.
United remained in a back three in possession, Dalot coming inside almost as a No 10, but reverted to a back four without the ball to address the problems that led the Norwegian champions picking the hosts apart in the first half.
This brought renewed confidence and United went ahead five minutes after the restart as Hojlund slotted in after a lovely Mason Mount flick unlocked Manuel Ugarte, who put the ball on a plate for the Denmark striker, scoring his first goals since October.
United move up to 12th in the Europa League standings with their second win in the competition after five games, two points away from the automatic qualification spots. Bodo/Glimt, meanwhile, sit two points back in 17th.
What went wrong in the first half for Amorim?
Amorim warned that his team would have to suffer as they adapt to his new system and that came to fruition against Bodo/Glimt as Norway’s champions exposed some glaring holes.
Although the pressing of the team was far more impressive with Hojlund and Mount in the front three, there were problems further back in defence.
Amorim wants his right and left centre-backs to push right up to win the ball high in midfield, but the other players appeared unclear about what their responsibilities were in these moments.
For Evjen’s pinpoint strike, Mazraoui had pressed up to try and regain the ball, forcing Ugarte to cover which left a hole on the edge of the box that should have been filled by Bruno Fernandes, operating further back than at Ipswich.
And then for the second, Lisandro Martinez was deep in the opposition half, leaving Malacia one-vs-one against Zinckernagel. The returning defender, who had a head start, was left for dead. All it took was a long ball over the top to expose the gap.
Hojlund’s first goal, the equaliser that made it 2-2, was an example of this strategy working to perfection. United were high up the pitch and lost the ball, but Mazraoui stepped up to intercept and ended the move as the provider.
Amorim is experiencing teething problems but showed enough adaptability to get over the line for his first win.
‘There was some confusion’ – Amorim’s verdict
Amorim says there was some “confusion” in his team against Bodo/Glimt but felt they improved in possession from the Premier League draw at Ipswich on Sunday.
“I see what what everybody sees – good moments, difficult moments,” the head coach told TNT Sports.
“There was some confusion in the end trying to hold the result but the lads did a great job. They ran, they pressed, they tried to do the things we have worked on in the last three days and we won.
“Half of the stadium doesn’t know me, I came from Portugal and I did nothing for this club. Yet the way they make me feel at home is special. I will keep this to the end of my career.
“It was a real ride. We started well but then conceded two goals in transitions. I like the way the players tried to play our game.
“Sometimes we won the ball and have had problems in the past giving the ball away too much – the mindset is keeping the ball. They are really trying and I think we deserved the win.”
Hojlund: Amorim system suits me well
Asked if it was a good game by TNT Sportsgoalscorer Hojlund said: “Yes and no. It was a little bit of a bad start but we came back and showed character. We want to make sure these games don’t get too exciting. But it’s all about the three points.
“Amorim told me not to think too much about the guys behind me and just work on what I can see in front of me. We saw that with the first goal.
“Obviously it’s going to take time (adapting to the style) and we can already see some patterns. Now for us it’s time to build. For me this system reminds me of how I played in a 3-4-3 at Atalanta. It suits me well.”
