Key events
64 min Shot! By Rashford – a rasping volley that Scherpen does well to tip away for a corner.
63 min As Alex Ferguson looks on, delightedly, Gary O’Neil may be thinking “Football, bloody hell.” He responds by reaching for his new toy, Exequiel Palacios, who replaces the unfortunate Nunez.
62 min The keeper, Scherpen, stood offf-centre. “The only person he confused,” says Gary Neville, “was himself.”
GOAL! Man United 3-1 Ipswich (Fernandes 61 pen)
Fernandes takes an age, but finds the corner!
60 min Bruno Fernandes has the ball. He missed his last two penalties…
PENALTY TO MAN UNITED!
Mainoo sends Cunha clean through and poor old Jacob Greaves brings him down. Craig Pawson points to the spot and gives him a yellow card.
GOAL CONFIRMED! Man United 2-1 Ipswich (Greaves og 57)
It’s given – because it was an own goal! And an accidental handball, which is allowed from anyone bar the scorer.
GOAL? United 2-1 Ipswich maybe (Maguire 57)
Harry Maguire scores with his foot! From the edge of the box. But did his hand play a part too? The VAR is on the case.
55 min Ipswich even get a corner, though nothing comes of it…
53 min “It’s a United siege now,” says the commentator. It’s certainly ping-pong in the box as Mainoo has a shot, possibly two, but Ipswich swith theiree off the danger with some quick wits and firm blocks.
52 min Mbeumo, slipped in by Fernandes, bustles into the box before picking the wrong pass. Then Rashford sends in a left-foot volleyed cross which Mbeumo has to score from – but he hits the bar!
50 min Sure enough, the first shot of the half comes from Enciso, who hits it over the bar from 25 yards. “He’s been the best player on the pitch,” says Gary Neville.
48 min United pass the ball around, harmlessly. Ipswich have less of the ball but use it more purposefully. They have the air of a team whose manager has just told them they can win this.
47 min United kick off, but Ipswich start sharply and Enciso wins a free kick off Cunha.
“As a United fan,” says David Flynn, “I feel like commentators and journalists are under some sort of mass psychosis when it comes to Marcus Rashford. He has spent his entire United career being massively inconsistent, more often than not playing poorly and there’s absolutely no evidence that has changed.
“He might very well score a hat trick today but the one thing you can be sure of is that there’s a ten month goal drought in his future. I think the press needs to accept that and stop getting excited when he starts.”
More often than not playing poorly? That’s quite a harsh view of a player who had scored about 130 goals in 400 games for United before turning 27. And who, as he has (gently) pointed out himself, has had to cope with inconsistent management – from Van Gaal to Mourinho to Solskjaer to Rangnick to Ten Hag to Amorim and now Carrick, who seems to have handled him well so far. Rashford has been bright today, for what it’s worth.
Time for a glance at the post. “United fan here,” wrote Joshua Keeling about 20 minutes ago. “Can’t wait to see who this season’s caretaker manager will be.” Ouch!
“They can spend a much as they want on their midfield and attack,” says Matthew Lysaght, “but persisting with any or all of Maguire/Dalot/Shaw makes that expenditure null and void.” You may be right, but one of them went to the World Cup and the other two were unlucky to be rebuffed by Thomas Tuchel.
“Hey Tim,” says Alan Steenstrup in Querétaro, Mexico. “You wrote: ‘As expected, Carrick has Mbeumo on the right, Mbeumo in the middle and Rashford on the left.’ A bit of multi-talking for Mbeumo, if anyone can, he can.” Good line! Sorry, I meant Cunha in the middle. He’s been better today than at Hull, though Sesko’s height will be handy, when he comes on, in the face of Scherpen.
HALF-TIME! Man United 1-1 Ipswich
It’s been a lively half, packed with action at both ends. Ipswich were very good for ten minutes in the middle and led through a classy shot from Leif Davis. But then Marcelino Nunez slipped on the damp, relaid turf and allowed Matheus Cunha to start a counter that ended with an equally fine finish from Bruno Fernandes.
45+1 min We’re into the first of two added minutes. Dalot’s shot takes a deflection and brings a corner, but all United get out of that is a throw-in or two … until Lisandro Martinez takes a long shot, crisply struck but too high.
42 min Buoyed by the goal, Fernandes brings out a back-heel (which doesn’t find its target). Then Tielemans goes down inside the box, the crowd roar for a penalty… and the ref refuses to play ball. It may have been a foul by O’Shea, but the dying fall was too theatrical to be convincing.
42 min We’ve seen that goal before from Carrick’s United, but usually it’s Fernandes playing the pass and Mbeumo supplying the finish.
GOAL!! Man United 1-1 Ipswich (Fernandes 40)
Nunez slips in midfield, Cunha breaks away on the counter and slips it to Fernandes, who blasts a left-foot shot past Scherpen.
38 min Fernandes tries a short-corner routine but messes it up by passing straight to a defender. Rashford manages a cross, only to see it gobbled up by the giant Scherpen.
37 min Another foul, and it’s an ugly one. Fatawu goes sliding in on Mbeumo and gets a booking. He may be in trouble with the Union of Right-Wingers too.
36 min Ipswich, by the way, haven’t won at Old Trafford since 1984.
35 min United’s turn to commit a gratuitous foul as Harry Maguire manhandles Emersonn near the halfway line. Tielemans is then caught napping, but United see off the danger.
34 min Sasa Lukic, who’s been a big presence in midfield, brings down Tielemans when he doesn’t need to, and gets a yellow card.
33 min The cameras find Michael Carrick looking pensive, as well he may. Are United disintegrating again in the face of a promoted team with a bit of spirit?
31 min Chance for Ipswich: Davis again! It’s another fine cross from Fatawu. Davis, perhaps surprised to find himself getting all these openings, shoots a bit limply at point-blank range.
GOAL! Man United 0-1 Ipswich (Davis 29)
It’s last weekend all over again! Fatawu surges down the right wing, shrugs off Shaw and crosses to Davis, whose finish goes in off the bar.
28 min Another minute, another United attack. Mbeumo curls in a cross from the right which is just too high for Fernandes and Rashford, coming in at the far post.
27 min “United’s midfield were criticised for not being positive enough last week,” Gary Neville says, “and they’ve been better here, Mainoo and Fernandes linking well.”
26 min Fernandes takes it himself and hits it into the wall.