Manchester United will seek their first win under Ruben Amorim as their new manager takes charge at Old Trafford for the first time.
The hosts welcome Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt to Old Trafford in Amorim’s first Europa League game looking to get their stuttering campaign back on track. While the Portuguese coach’s opening fixture against Ipswich brought a new system and new approach, many of the same failings that led to the sacking of Erik ten Hag remained apparent as Manchester United ceded an early lead to be held at Portman Road.
Their visitors tonight begin the fifth round of fixtures in this revamped league phase a point ahead of Amorim’s side, though may have one eye on Sunday’s decisive Eliteserien fixture against relegated Lillestrom. Victory there will secure a fourth title in five years for the club, who play their home games inside the Arctic Circle and should thus have few qualms with a chilly Manchester night.
Follow all of the action from Old Trafford in our live blog below:
Manchester United host Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League | Live on TNT Sports
Ruben Amorim takes charge of his first fixture at Old Trafford
Manchester United XI: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez; Antony, Ugarte, Mount, Malacia; Garnacho, Hojlund, Fernandes.
Haikin; Wembangomo, Gundersen, Bjortuft, Bjorkan; Evjen, Berg, Brunstad Fet; Zinchernagel, Helmersen, Hauge.
KICK OFF!
GOAL! MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 Bodo/Glimt (Alejandro Garnacho, 1 minutes)
20:11 , Harry Latham-Coyle
We have mentioned at length tonight that Bodo/Glimt have rather more important battles to fight this week, this game perhaps non-consequential in a competition which seems harder to get out of than into in this revamped format and a league title to secure on Sunday. That was certainly a careless start – manager Kjetil Knutsen scribbles something on a piece of paper, looking like a schoolchild on a field trip who has lost his clipboard.
20:08 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A poor delivery. So poor, in fact, that Mason Mount, the first man, virtually has to stoop to head away.
20:08 , Harry Latham-Coyle
An enterprising run from Fredrik Andre Bjorkan takes him beyond Antony and forces Matthijs de Ligt to come across. A flick of legs sends the ball spinning behind – corner kick.
20:06 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Malacia gets a first look at a cross but overweights his curling ball from the left. Out of reach of three teammates hoping to challenge in the box.
20:05 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Wow. Neither side had even had time to settle into shape before that opener, but it is, as expected, a 3-4-2-1 from the hosts, with Antony at right wing-back and the returning Tyrell Malacia on the left.
20:02 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Another lightning-quick start and Manchester United lead within a minute!
What is Nikita Khaikin doing? The goalkeeper sashays over a back pass under pressure from Rasmus Hojlund, allowing the striker to close in further and pinch possession from him inside the Bodo/Glimt box. Hojlund is tugged back by the goalkeeper but Alejandro Garnacho is on hand to sweep up the pieces and knock home into the vacant net. Remarkable!
20:01 , Harry Latham-Coyle
The healthy contingent of travelling Bodo/Glimt fans provide the backing track as Manchester United get the action underway.
20:00 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Out the players come, warming the legs as Ruben Amorim fixes his best blue steel for the considerable number of assembled snappers grabbing a shot of the new Manchester United manager.
Belgium’s Lawrence Visser is our referee this evening.
19:55 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Ruben Amorim sought to downplay the impact of this being his first home game tonight, insisting that he was fully focussed on getting a win. But it is nonetheless an opportunity to take in the history and stature of the grand old club which he now leads.
19:45 , Harry Latham-Coyle
You can see from Ruben Amorim’s selection tonight that he doesn’t yet have the personnel that he will surely desire to operate his preferred system. Assuming it is a back three, all of Noussair Mazraoui, Antony, Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes are probably in what one would describe as less-than-natural roles. But we’ve seen tactical ideologues turn makeshift options into genuine difference-makers before – can any Manchester United players stake a claim to their new boss tonight?
19:35 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Bodo/Glimt would appear to have had no issues getting to and inside Old Trafford tonight, but the Norwegian club have already dealt with a bit of Uefa tomfoolery in the Europa League this year…
Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt forced to take 30-second bus journey due to odd Uefa rule
19:25 , Richard Jolly
A week has served as a crash course in managing Manchester United for Ruben Amorim. There was the hope and disappointment, the flying start at Ipswich and the underwhelming draw of a team held by one of lesser talent, acquired for lesser resources. There was the initial indication of how bright the spotlight shines, of the blend of football and celebrity that United tend to attract.
Before Amorim had got a win, he had an apology from Ed Sheeran after the pop star gatecrashed his post-match interview at Portman Road. It was not necessary. “Sometimes you overcomplicate things,” said the Portuguese, aware such artificial controversies did not come his way in his homeland. “It was nothing, a simple thing to say hello to one of the commentators. And I was with Roy Keane, who is a real star.”
Ruben Amorim’s Old Trafford debut comes with burning Manchester United question
19:15 , Harry Latham-Coyle
“I’m expecting a very good team,” the Manchester United manager said of the Norwegian visitors on match eve. “They can win the league this week I think, they run a lot and that’s a very good thing for us at the moment. We need to improve that, so we know that in this game we have to run a lot. They have some special players in the wingers, they can play on the pockets very well and they have aura of winning games and this is also because they’re winning all the time. I’m expecting a very intense game, a very good game and I hope to see different things. Improve some things we didn’t do so well in the last game, so it will be a good game.”
19:05 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Perhaps with more than one eye on Sunday’s potentially title-securing league clash, Bodo/Glimt make five changes from their weekend win.
Bodo/Glimt: Haikin; Wembangomo, Gundersen, Bjortuft, Bjorkan; Evjen, Berg, Brunstad Fet; Zinchernagel, Helmersen, Hauge.
18:57 , Richard Jolly at Old Trafford
Ruben Amorim promised changes and he has made six of them for his first match at Old Trafford. Among the more intriguing is the use of Antony, an £85m failure of a winger, at wing-back, and the choice of Rasmus Hojlund, after Marcus Rashford was preferred in attack at Ipswich. It means Joshua Zirkzee is the third-choice striker, a damning indictment of a summer signing. Another thing to note is that Bodo/Glimt kick off above United in the Europa League table.
18:52 , Harry Latham-Coyle
As promised, Ruben Amorim rotates in places in his Manchester United side. Tyrell Malacia makes a long-awaited return from injury while it also appears that Antony is primed for a wing-back role.
Manchester United XI: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez; Antony, Ugarte, Mount, Malacia; Garnacho, Hojlund, Fernandes.
18:45 , Jamie Braidwood
Manchester United supporters are planning to stage a protest against ticket prices ahead of their Premier League match against Everton on Sunday after the club announced “offensive” plans to remove concession prices for the rest of this season.
The move will see ticket costs for members rise to £66 and has been criticised by supporters’ groups, with the Manchester United Supporters Trust (MUST) warning that it may lead to a “significant price rise” for next season and expressing its disappointment at not being consulted over the change.
United and Everton fans will join together outside of Old Trafford in support of the Football Supporters’ Association’s (FSA’s) ‘Stop Exploiting Loyalty campaign’. Liverpool and Manchester City supporters will also display the banner ahead of their match at Anfield later that day.
Manchester United fans plan protest over ‘offensive’ ticket price hike
18:30 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Ruben Amorim feels rotation over the next month will help speed up the process of Manchester United’s players becoming accustomed to his style of football.
Amorim started his tenure with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich on Sunday where Marcus Rashford’s 81-second opener failed to inspire a triumphant debut for the former Sporting Lisbon boss.
Various principles of the 39-year-old were on display in Suffolk, with three centre-backs deployed alongside the use of wing-backs, but United were indebted to two excellent Andre Onana saves to claim a point.
Ruben Amorim to rotate Man Utd team to speed up implementation of new style
18:15 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Former Manchester United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy is the frontrunner to become Leicester’s new manager.
The Dutchman appears set to replace Steve Cooper at the King Power Stadium following the Welshman’s sacking last weekend.
Van Nistelrooy has only been out of work a couple of weeks after leaving United after a four-game spell as interim manager, taking the reins after Erik ten Hag’s exit having joined in the summer as a coach.
Two of those four games were wins over Leicester in the Carabao Cup and Premier League.
18:00 , Harry Latham-Coyle
17:45 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Manchester United spent £8.6m restructuring and paying off the 250 members of staff who were sacked as Sir Jim Ratcliffe culled the number of employees at Old Trafford.
The costs – described in their first-quarter accounts as “restructuring of the group’s operations, including a redundancy scheme” – contributed to United making a £6.9m operating loss for the first three months of the financial year, though the club had a net profit of £1.4m.
United’s revenue was down £14m on the equivalent period last year, though the wage bill was also £10m lower.
True cost of Man Utd redundancies revealed as revenue drops
17:30 , Richard Jolly
Ruben Amorim has vowed to help Marcus Rashford get back to his best – but said it is up to the Manchester United forward to take the lead and show he wants it.
Rashford scored the first goal of Amorim’s reign, and his 136th for the club, after just 81 seconds in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Ipswich.
But after scoring a career-best 30 in 2022/23, the England international struck just eight times in 43 matches last season and only scored one Premier League goal under Erik ten Hag this year.
Amorim fielded Rashford as a striker at Portman Road and believes it was tough for him to compete with Ipswich’s tall centre-backs but thinks the 27-year-old’s attitude will be the key part if he is to return to his top levels.
Ruben Amorim explains key to getting Marcus Rashford back to his best
17:15 , Harry Latham-Coyle
Ruben Amorim laughed off pop star Ed Sheeran gatecrashing his interview at Ipswich as the Manchester United boss said Roy Keane was the “real star”.
The 39-year-old led the Red Devils to Portman Road on Sunday for his first match since succeeding Erik ten Hag as head coach.
Marcus Rashford’s early opener was cancelled out in the 1-1 draw at Ipswich, where Amorim’s live interview with Sky Sports after the game was interrupted by Sheeran.
Ruben Amorim sings praises of ‘real star’ Roy Keane after Ed Sheeran incident
17:00 , Richard Jolly
A week has served as a crash course in managing Manchester United for Ruben Amorim. There was the hope and disappointment, the flying start at Ipswich and the underwhelming draw of a team held by one of lesser talent, acquired for lesser resources. There was the initial indication of how bright the spotlight shines, of the blend of football and celebrity that United tend to attract.
Before Amorim had got a win, he had an apology from Ed Sheeran after the pop star gatecrashed his post-match interview at Portman Road. It was not necessary. “Sometimes you overcomplicate things,” said the Portuguese, aware such artificial controversies did not come his way in his homeland. “It was nothing, a simple thing to say hello to one of the commentators. And I was with Roy Keane, who is a real star.”
If that was a way of underlining that his focus remains on the football, there will be another novel experience for Amorim on Thursday: a first match at Old Trafford, with the visit of Bodo/Glimt
Ruben Amorim’s Old Trafford debut comes with burning Manchester United question
15:36 , Harry Latham-Coyle
A very good evening and welcome to The Independent’s LIVE coverage of Manchester United vs Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League. Ruben Amorim takes to the Old Trafford touchline for the first time tonight since his appointment as Erik ten Hag’s permanent successor, and the Portuguese manager will be hoping to spark a stuttering campaign into life against Norwegian opposition.
Kick off is at 8pm GMT.
