Ruben Amorim calls out Man Utd player in brutal analysis of Ipswich draw

Ruben Amorim wasn’t afraid to call out a Manchester United player after his first game in charge of the club.

The 39-year-old’s first managerial match in the Premier League ended in a 1-1 draw at newly-promoted Ipswich Town after Omari Hutchinson’s deflected shot leveled Marcus Rashford’s early goal at Portman Road. United showed some initial promise under their new manager, but this soon faded, highlighting areas that still require improvement. United fans criticized two players for their underperformance, and it seems Amorim shared this view.

After the match, Amorim spoke to the Sky Sports panel, where Jamie Redknapp asked about the need for his team to improve their high-intensity running to match his playing style and compete at the top level. Amorim singled out experienced center-back Jonny Evans, who he felt should have done better with his pressing against Ipswich’s Hutchinson, who was frequently found in open space.

Evans played on the left side of a back three with Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui before being substituted for Luke Shaw in the 56th minute. “If you see the first-half, the number five [Morsy] was always alone, we have to jump on him,” Amorim told Redknapp on Sky Sports. “Then the number 20, Hutchinson, was always here in the dead space. Jonny Evans should be pressing that guy. But when we don’t have training, it’s hard to tell all the reactions to the players. We had two days. They are confused a little bit and they stay here. If you stay here, you don’t run.

“You defend, but you don’t run. So you feel that in the data, you have to understand the data to see what happened during the game. First, they have to understand the game, then we have to be much better physically to cope with the high pressure, the volume of high-speed running, all these things. We need time to work.”

In his starting lineup, Amorim also deployed Amad Diallo and Diogo Dalot as wing-backs, with Rashford playing centrally ahead of Rasmus Hojlund. United’s next match is on Thursday when they face Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in Amorim’s first home game at Old Trafford. They are currently 12th in the Premier League, six points behind the top four.