Ruben Amorim had to settle for a point on his debut as Manchester United head coach after Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener in an end-to-end 1-1 Premier League draw at Ipswich.
FULL MATCH DETAILS
Amorim had dubbed himself 'the smiling one' on Friday but was motionless when Rashford tapped home after 81 seconds following excellent play by Amad Diallo, who was used at right wing-back.
Newly-promoted Town, buoyed by a first league win of the season at Tottenham a fortnight ago, responded with aplomb and levelled after 43 minutes through Hutchinson's deflected left-footed strike.
There would be no second-half winner, but Amorim was indebted to goalkeeper Andre Onana for two stunning saves to deny Liam Delap either side of half-time.
A point did little for United's top-four ambitions, but they extended their unbeaten run to five matches to move up one place to 12th.
This was a special occasion for Ipswich boss and boyhood United fan Kieran McKenna, but all eyes were on Amorim and he stuck with the trusted 3-4-3 formation that served him so well at Sporting Lisbon.
Jonny Evans, only three years younger than his new boss, was at the heart of the visitors’ defence, with Diallo used in an unfamiliar right wing-back role and Rashford played through the middle instead of Rasmus Hojlund.
With only 81 seconds played, those bold decisions paid off as United opened their account under Amorim through Rashford.
It was all about Diallo as he raced past Jens Cajuste’s lunging tackle and crossed the ball in for Rashford to poke home ahead of a static Arijanet Muric.
United’s vocal travelling faithful celebrated wildly but Amorim was unmoved on the touchline.
Not long after Christian Eriksen fizzed an effort wide,
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