A new era for Manchester United has begun. The Portuguese success coach Ruben Amorim, previously at Viktor Gyökeres' Sporting Lisbon, has entered the club. And he got a taste of it in his first match.
It only took 80 seconds before the son of the city, Marcus Rashford, made it 1-0 away against PL newcomer Ipswich.
There and then, enthusiasm for what awaits Manchester United under Amorim.
Flat fall
But the joy was short-lived. The home team grew into the match more and more, and in the 43rd minute, Omari Hutchinson could equalize for Ipswich, via United's back Noussair Mazraoui. A 1-1 goal that also became the final score of the match.
Instead of euphoria and a dream start for the Portuguese, it was a flat fall and continued crawling in the league for Manchester United.
The draw was the big club's seventh tie in the last 13 matches in all competitions. United thus retains its 12th place in the league, and Ipswich climbs one place to 18th.
Swede Jens Cajuste started and played 65 minutes for Ipswich.
The fire alarm went off – no VAR
But despite the relatively goal-scarce history, there was no lack of events.
In the 37th minute, the game was suddenly stopped, and referee Anthony Taylor called the respective team captains for a chat while the fourth official talked to the coaches.
Later, it would turn out that players and coaches were informed that the match would temporarily be played without VAR. The fire alarm in the VAR room in London had gone off, and the referee team was forced to evacuate. Just a few minutes later, the danger was over, and VAR could be used again.
