Ipswich Town drew 1-1 with Manchester United at Portman Road yesterday afternoon. Stuart Watson reflects on the action.
MIRRORED SYSTEMS
There was a lot of talk in the build-up about whether new Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim would deploy the 3-4-3 system he favoured at Sporting Lisbon.
Kieran McKenna argued that too much is made of formations these days given that most teams flex in and out of possession.
We’ve seen it with Town for a while now. Leif Davis covers the entire left side, the left-sided attacker tucks in to become a second No.10, while the right-back can roll inside to create a back three. The 4-2-3-1 base shape really doesn’t tell the tale. A 5-2-3 / 5-4-1 out of possession can quickly transition into a 3-4-3 / 3-2-5 in attack.
United actually set-up a lot like Ipswich. Noussair Mazraoui played the Axel Tuanzebe role, Diogo Dalot got forwards from left-back, while Amad Diallo operated as a wing-back.
Perhaps the latter caught the Blues out early on as Diallo received the ball deep, shrugged off Davis, skipped past a Jens Cajuste challenge and charged forwards to set-up Marcus Rashford for a second minute opener. The same almost happened again in the seventh minute when Diallo pulled the ball back for Christian Eriksen to fire wide.
“There was a challenge at the start of the game because we weren’t sure what their positioning would be,” admitted McKenna. “You get the line-up, but you don’t know whether Diallo or would [Alejandro] Garnacho would play wing-back.
“There were probably a few times in the first five or 10 minutes where we were, not caught out, but it was hard to be certain about the positioning of the opposition and it took us a little while to get on top of that.”
Amorim said afterwards that he felt his players were in a phase of trying to break old habits and looked, at times, like they were over-thinking on the field in an attempt to carry out his instructions.
“[I want] Three defenders, two wingers, two midfielders, two number 10s and one striker. I listen to you guys saying that Manchester United doesn’t have a structure. Or you see a structure and say ‘it’s not fluid’. When we get that structure they will play more fluid, but we need time to do that.”
STAR BOY STRIKES
After such an early set-back, it would have been easy for Town to crumble against a team full of quality and motivation. Instead, the Blues showed character and intelligence to find a foothold and gradually turn the tide .
Omari Hutchinson was at the heart of that. Time and time again he dropped into pockets of space and showed a good combination of strength and skill to beat the first wave of pressure and get the Blues moving up the pitch.
Fittingly, it was he who scored the fully-deserved equaliser as half-time approached. A subtle body feint allowed him to drift away from Casemiro. A beautifully struck curling left-footed shot was helped into the top corner with a glancing flick off the head of Mazraoui. It was a strike reminiscent of those two goals on a memorable night at Hull back in April.
This is a player who can press and tackle, dribble and shoot, and, increasingly, make the right decisions at the right time. Watching his rapid development over the last 12 months has been an absolute joy. Excitingly, it still feels like there are more levels to come too.
WONDER SAVES
Liam Delap once again activated juggernaut mode. Unfortunately, on this occasion, Town’s unstoppable force met an immovable object.
The two point-blank saves that United keeper Andre Onana made in this game needed to be seen again to be believed.
The first came in the 40th minute, not long before Hutchinson’s leveller. After Cameron Burgess’ perfectly-placed pass up the line and Davis’ cool chop and square pass, Delap did the right thing in side-footing firmly back across goal. Onana somehow kept the ball out with an instinctive, strong right hand.
Seven minutes after the restart, Delap took out two United players with a smart turn in his own half, sprayed the ball right with a sumptuous outside of the boot pass and then charged forwards to get on the end of the cross. This time, a clever flick with his trailing instep was kept out by Onana’s leg.
It’s encouraging to see the powerful front man getting on the end of balls between the posts. He could easily have added to the one-touch, close-range centre-forward finishes bagged at Brentford and Tottenham.
The other part of his game, which we’ve saw from the off, was again in evidence too.
Just before the half hour mark, he set off with intent, powered his way through traffic on the edge of the box and was cleaned out by Jonny Evans.
In first half stoppage-time, when the crowd were up and United were wobbling, he left Evans seeing stars and Mazraoui spitting feathers with some crash, bang, wallop play. Midway through the second half there was a charging run and bludgeoned shot that flew well wide.
It’s about time strikers like this came back into fashion. The ball-playing centre-backs of the Premier League don’t know what’s hit them.
MANAGING THE GAME
The tide turned again after that second Onana save from Delap. United began to connect and control possession. Ipswich played with organisation and desire though to really limit clear cut chances on their goal during a dangerous spell in the match.
Cajuste produced a perfectly-timed slide tackle to prevent Alejandro Garnacho getting clear, while Dara O’Shea flung himself in the way of a Bruno Fernandes shot.
The excellent Axel Tuanzebe played a cool back pass under pressure, Morsy used his body well to win a foul off Garnacho, then the tireless Szmodics charged down a Mazraoui clearance. Each moment drew a huge cheer from the home crowd and upped the frustration in the visiting ranks.
Amorim threw on £100m+ strike duo Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee, but the closest United came to levelling was when Fernandes whipped a free-kick narrowly past the post. Having stayed in the game, Town could have won it late on when substitutes Jack Clarke and Conor Chaplin smartly combined.
Earlier in the season, the Blues left themselves too open in tough moments and often quickly unravelled. They’re sensing momentum shifts and managing games much better now.
ANY OTHER BUSINESS
We’re quick to slam officials when they get it wrong, so a word of praise for Anthony Taylor. I thought he managed this game with a great deal of common sense and consistency.
What I wasn’t so keen on was a giddy Ed Sheeran gate-crashing an unimpressed Ruben Amorim’s post-match TV interview. Ed, we love you, but there’s a time and a place.
It’s worth pointing out, once more, where so many of this Ipswich team have come from. Cameron Burgess played for Cheltenham, Oldham, Bury, Scunthorpe, Salford and Accrington. Wes Burns spent six years at Fleetwood. Sammie Szmodics, Sam Morsy and Conor Chaplin all started out in League Two. None look out of their depth at all.
Wolves’ win at Fulham on Saturday may mean McKenna’s men are back in the drop zone, but all things considered – 22 years away, late signings, some key injuries, VAR controversy and disruptive international breaks - it’s been a pretty encouraging start to life in back the Premier League.
That’s seven results of some kind from 12 games now. The next step, of course, is to start turning some more draws into wins - especially on Suffolk soil. It feels like it’s coming.
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