Three points in the bag.
Manchester United got on the board for the 2026/27 Premier League season on Sunday with an emphatic win over Ipswich Town at Old Trafford. The Reds were lacking on the east coast last weekend to open the season, but were back and firing in the rain at home. It wasn’t always pretty. In fact, it started out with a pretty worrying stretch in the first half, but the reigning PFA Player of the Season stepped up to pull the team back into the contest against the PL newcomers and propel
the team to victory in the second half.
Manager Michael Carrick was limited by injuries again with the team selection. Benjamin Sesko remained on the bench as he works back to match fitness, while Amad’s injury kept Bryan Mbeumo on the right wing. Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo picked up their first starts of the season and Lisandro Martinez took up his regular left center back role.
The conversation in the first half around the match focused on Luke Shaw, who, despite a good effort to put off Julio Enciso, was found lacking on a run by Abdul Fatawu around the wing and toward the byline. The Ghanaian winger found Leif Davis with a ball across goal and the left back finished to open the scoring in the 29th minute.
The visitors threatened a handful of times in the first half, and took the initiative after scoring to pursue more. The game was there for the taking, but a stroke of luck put the game back in Manchester United’s favor.
Marcelino Nunez paid tribute to Steven Gerrard with a slip on the ball while possessing along the back line, and it presented a gift of a counterattack. Matheus Cunha drove and played Bruno Fernandes in behind the last man, and the United talisman answered with the equalizer. A strong finish to draw level before the break.
The Reds picked up the pace in attack after the restart and it wasn’t long before they were rewarded. Bryan Mbeumo somehow missed the target from point-blank range after Rashford played a ball back across the face. It was a difficult ball to control but Mbeumo’s instinct kicked in, it just wasn’t meant to be as it whacked off the frame. Instead, Harry Maguire made the difference by forcing an own goal moments later. He controlled a ball with his arms tucked into his chest before firing a low shot into the crowd of defenders to meet a kind deflection into the net. The visitors felt it should have been disallowed, but the VAR thought otherwise.
Moments after that, a penalty was won and Bruno Fernandes converted easily to make it a comfortable 3-1 lead.
From there on it was just about all United. Bruno completed his hat-trick after a mis-hit by Mbeumo, but the latter got his goal as well to make it five goals on the day. Martinez gifted a consolation goal late with sloppy play at the back, but it had no impact on the result by that point.
The quality of the game was much improved after the defeat at Hull City last week. A 5-2 scoreline just about told the story of the match, in which the visitors did threaten but couldn’t hold their nerve defensively in the second half. It was perhaps missing a goal from Marcus Rashford, who matched the positive reception with a lively performance and some impressive creativity. He nearly found the net late before he was substituted, but will have to wait for his grand return to his boyhood club.
United will look to build on the performance next Sunday against Everton on Merseyside, and shortly after that will kick off their return to the UEFA Champions League against Sabah the following Thursday.
