Ruben Amorim clinched his first victory as Manchester United boss, as his side cruised to a 3-2 Europa League win over Bodo/Glimt.
On yet another occasion, United raced to an extremely early advantage, with Alejandro Garnacho scoring in the first minute. Rasmus Hojlund pressed the goalkeeper well, snatching the ball from him. Garnacho reacted the quickest to tap the ball into the back of an empty net.
Bodo/Glimt eventually settled and restored parity just 18 minutes later, through Hakon Evjen. The visitors would go on to take the lead moments later courtesy of Philip Zinckernagel.
Just before the break, Noussair Mazraoui demonstrated some brilliant footwork before delivering a sublime cross into the area for Hojlund. The United n.o 9 produced a superb touch and finish to ensure proceedings were level, heading into the tunnel.
Five minutes after the restart, Hojlund got on the end of a cross from Manuel Ugarte to put United into the driving seat. The victory is just United’s second in the Europa League this term.
One of United’s best performers throughout the 90 minutes was Ugarte.
The defensive midfielder touched the ball on 78 occasions and successfully found his teammates with 60 of the 65 minutes, managing an individual pass accuracy of 62%. One of Ugarte’s passes was a key pass – the assist for Hojlund’s second goal. It was also the only big chance he created
Ugarte tried to ping three long balls, successfully connecting twice.
The Uruguayan embarked on one dribble, which he completed. He delved into seven ground duels, winning five of them.
The former Paris Saint-Germain and Sporting Lisbon man made two clearances and three interceptions.
He also contributed four tackles.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
Against Bodo/Glimt, Ugarte produced one of his finest displays since signing for the Red Devils and hopefully, it’s a sign of what is to come under Amorim.
Featured image Gareth Copley via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
