Rasmus Hojlund scored twice and gave Ruben Amorim his first win at Manchester United as they came from behind to beat Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League at Old Trafford.

Hojlund might have scored a hat-trick had he not been tackled to the ground by Norway’s goalkeeper Nikita Haikan after dispossessing him within a minute – but Alejandro Garnacho was there to score the opener and Amorim another to give you a dream start.

United faded, just as they had in Ipswich, and Bodo/Glimt capitalized and exposed gaps in the back three as Hakon Evjen and Filip Zinckernagel struck twice in four first-half minutes to turn the game on its head.

Amorim’s relief was evident when Hojlund fired a right-footed volley into the bottom corner just before half-time, bringing United level at half-time, but the Portuguese was clearly unhappy with the first-half performance as he made a subtle tactical change .

Diogo Dalot came on as a substitute at half-time for the returning Tyrell Malacia and made his first United appearance in 550 days after being unmarked in a race with Zinckernagel for Bodo/Glimt’s second goal.

United retained possession in a back three, with Dalot almost coming into the game as a number 10, but reverted to a back four without the ball to solve the problems that led to the Norwegian champions tearing the hosts apart in the first half.

That brought renewed confidence and United took the lead five minutes after the restart when Hojlund took the lead after a fine shot from Mason Mount and released Manuel Ugarte, who laid the ball on the plate for the Danish striker to score his first goals since October .

United move up to 12th in the Europa League standings with their second win in the competition after five games, two points from the automatic qualification places. Bodo/Glimt are currently in 17th place, two points behind.

What went wrong for Amorim in the first half?

Amorim warned that his team would suffer as they adjusted to their new system and that came to fruition against Bodo/Glimt as the Norwegian champions exposed some glaring gaps.

Although the team’s pressing was far more impressive with Hojlund and Mount in the front three lines, there were problems further back in defense.

Amorim wants his right and left center backs to push all the way up to win the ball high in midfield, but the other players seemed unaware of their responsibilities in these moments.

On Evjen’s pinpoint shot, Mazraoui had applied pressure to win the ball back and forced Ugarte to cover, leaving a hole on the edge of the penalty area that should have been filled by Bruno Fernandes, who was operating further back than at Ipswich.

And then Lisandro Martinez stood deep in the opposition half for the second time and left Malacia one-on-one against Zinckernagel. The returning defender, who had a lead, appeared to be dead. All it took was a long ball over the top to expose the gap.

Hojlund’s first goal, the equalizer to make it 2-2, was an example of how this strategy worked perfectly. United were high up the pitch and lost the ball, but Mazraoui stepped up to intercept and finished the move as provider.

Amorim had a tough start but showed enough adaptability to get his first win.

“There was some confusion” – Amorim’s verdict

Amorim says there was some “confusion” in his team against Bodo/Glimt but felt they had better possession since the Premier League draw at Ipswich on Sunday.

“I see what everyone sees – good moments, difficult moments,” said the head coach TNT Sports.

“There was some confusion at the end as we tried to hold on to the result but the boys did a great job. They ran, they applied pressure, they tried to implement the things we have been working on over the last three days and we won.”

“Half of the stadium doesn’t know me, I’m from Portugal and I’ve done nothing for this club. Still, the way they make me feel at home is special. I will keep it that way until the end of my career.”

“It was a real ride. We started well, but then conceded two goals in the transition phase. I like the way the players tried to play our game.”

“At times we have won the ball and have had problems in the past giving the ball away too often – the mindset is to keep the ball. They are trying really hard and I think we deserve the win.”

Hojlund: The Amorim system suits me well

Asked if it was a good game TNT SportsGoalscorer Hojlund said: “Yes and no. It was a bit of a bad start, but we came back and showed character. We want to make sure these games don’t get too exciting. But it’s all about the three points.”

“Amorim told me not to think too much about the guys behind me and only work on what I can see in front of me. We saw that with the first goal.

“Of course it will take time (adapting to the style) and we can already see some patterns. Now it’s time for us to build. For me, this system reminds me of playing in a 3-4-3 at Atalanta. It suits me well.”

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