The second time was the charm for Ruben Amorim as he saw his Manchester United side win for the first time on Thursday.
It was not the dominant result that the head coach had imagined, but Ruben Amorim will have learned a lot about his team.
In comparison to the Ipswich draw, Manchester United’s performance in the 3-2 win against Bodo/Glimt was much improved as reflected in the scoreline.
United came from behind to win with Rasmus Hojlund the star of the show, scoring twice. Alejandro Garnacho was also on the scoresheet.
So as the dust settles at Old Trafford, here are three winners and two losers from the game.
Rasmus Hojlund
Arguably the biggest winner was United’s No.9 as he scored twice and also assisted a goal too, responding well after Amorim chose Marcus Rashford up front against Ipswich.
Hojlund embodied what an Amorim striker should be as he worked hard, pressed and battled all game, and he also got his rewards.
Going forward it would seem likely that Hojlund will start upfront.
Manuel Ugarte
Central midfield was the biggest issue for United against Ipswich, which meant the return of Manuel Ugarte against Bodo was welcomed.
Ugarte was excellent in the defensive midfield role despite not really having a partner due to Bruno Fernandes’ positioning.
The Uruguayan assisted the winner and with his performance, he has surely put himself top of the list to start on Sunday, a big winner from the game.
Antony
Antony was handed a rare start as the right wing-back against Bodo and he grabbed this opportunity with both hands.
The 24-year-old looked comfortable in his new role as he completed four dribbles while winning six duels.
While Amad Diallo is clearly the first choice, Antony has now staked his claim to be second choice and we imagine he will start in the Europa League in two weeks time.
It is not the role he wanted at United, but it is how he can salvage something of a career and so he is a winner from this game.
Marcus Rashford
One loser from the game, however, is Rashford who had to watch from the bench as Hojlund got the entire 90 minutes and was excellent.
Tipped to star for Amorim, Rashford could now already be in a tricky situation as he failed to impress as a striker while also not suiting the inside forward roles.
Now, it is truly up in the air who starts up top against Everton as both will be in the running.
- READ MORE: Who is Marcus Rashford? Inside the life of Man Utd’s book-writing, government-tackling ace
Joshua Zirkzee
A second loser from the game is summer signing Joshua Zirkzee as the Dutchman sat on the bench for the entire game.
After a far-from-impressive cameo against Ipswich, zero minutes against Bodo shows Amorim’s early verdict on Zirkzee.
Ahead of the January transfer window, things are looking bleak for Zirkzee right now. He’s undeniably one loser from this win.
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