Amorim revels in ‘special’ Old Trafford welcome as Man Utd earn comeback win

Ruben Amorim says the 'special' welcome he has received from Manchester United supporters is something he will take with him until the end of his career.

The Portuguese celebrated victory on his first appearance at Old Trafford as Rasmus Hojlund's double set up a comeback 3-2 win over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday.

Alejandro Garnacho's opener was quickly canceled out by goals from Hakon Evjen and Philip Zinckernagel before Rasmus Hojlund restored parity before half-time.

Hojlund then struck the winner five minutes after the restart to seal the victory and scored his eighth major European goal for United, with only Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney (nine each) scoring more for the Red Devils aged 21 or under.

Many supporters were left to chant Amorim's name as he spoke to TNT Sports after the match, and he is grateful for the admiration they are showing him.

“The first thing is that half the stadium doesn't really know me,” he said.

“I'm from Portugal, I haven't done anything for this club yet, so the fact that they make me feel at home is so special. It's something special and I will keep it up until the end of my career.”

A special evening for Ruben's Reds #MUFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/L49Fxk6iwv

– Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 28, 2024

United have now won their last two European games (2-0 against PAOK Salonika under Ruud van Nistelrooy and 3-2 under Amorim on Thursday), more than in their last eleven under former boss Erik ten Hag (W1 D5 L5).

But there was cause for concern for the new United boss. Bodo/Glimt became only the second team to score twice within 23 minutes in a major European away match against them, along with Sporting Braga in October 2012 (2-0 after 20 minutes) – whose team also included Amorim that day.

Although Thursday's hosts dominated the match, finishing with an expected goals total (xG) of 2.63 from their 20 attempts compared to their opponents' 0.77 from their seven shots, Amorim expects improvements.

Amorim added: “Of course I see what everyone else sees. Good moments, some difficult moments, some confusion and ultimately trying to maintain the result. The boys ran to the end and in the end we won.

“It was like a real ride. We started really well and then got two goals in two transitions. I like the way our players keep trying to play our game. We had problems in the past where we gave the ball away too much. The mentality It is now important to keep the ball.”

Amorim's first home game is against Everton on Sunday.