| Manchester United 3 v 2 Ipswich Town FA Premier League Wednesday, 26th February 2025 Kick-off 19:30 |  |
Manchester United 3-2 Ipswich Town - Match Report Wednesday, 26th Feb 2025 21:47 Town spurned a golden chance to win at Old Trafford and gain some ground in the relegation battle as they were beaten 3-2 by 10-man Manchester United. Jaden Philogene was gifted his first league goal for Town in the fourth minute by a defensive mix-up, but United went into a 2-1 lead through a Sam Morsy own goal and Matthijs de Ligt rebound. Two minutes before the break, Patrick Dorgu was shown a straight red card for a foul on Omari Hutchinson following a VAR review and Town levelled through Philogene’s second goal, a cross sneaking into the corner of the net. The game looked there for the Blues but after conceding a Harry Maguire header two minutes after the restart, United’s third goal from a set piece, they never seriously threatened to get back on terms at manager Kieran McKenna’s old club. Town made two changes with former Red Devil Axel Tuanzebe and skipper Morsy returning to the side picked by McKenna, a United U18s and first-team coach before he joined the Blues. Tuanzebe came back in his usual right-sided defensive role having missed Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Spurs due to a one-match ban. Ben Godfrey, who replaced the DR Congo international at the weekend, dropped out of the squad. Morsy replaced Kalvin Phillips, who suffered a calf problem against Tottenham and was not in the 20-man party, in midfield with Jens Cajuste fine despite hurting his ankle at the weekend. United, who had nine first-team squad members injured, made two changes of their own from the team which drew 2-2 at Everton on Saturday with Noussair Mazraoui, who picked up a knock at Goodison Park, and Casemiro dropping to the bench and Leny Yoro and Alejandro Garnacho coming into the XI. The game started in the heavy rain which had fallen most of the afternoon. And as against Spurs, the Blues began on the front foot, Jack Clarke playing a pass along the 18-yard line for Liam Delap, who took it into the box but scuffed his shot wide, the wet ball perhaps sliding off his foot. But the Town fans in the corner at that end of the ground didn’t have to wait too long for a goal. Dara O’Shea hit a long ball for Philogene but beyond the former Aston Villa man and Dorgu should have had an easy job of tidying up. However, the Danish international wing-back knocked it back towards goal but with keeper Andre Onana having advanced to within a few yards of him and Philogene was presented with the simplest chance of his career, tapping into an empty goal from a few feet. The surprised but grateful Blues supporters delightedly celebrated Town’s first goal at Old Trafford since Chris Kiwomya netted in a 1-1 draw in 1992. Shell-shocked United looked to hit back and in the 10th minute, a deep Bruno Fernandes corner from the left reached Maguire and Alex Palmer did well to push the ball away to his left. Diogo Dalot’s follow-up looped deep into the Stretford End. The home side saw most of the ball, although without looking particularly convincing. However, on 22 they levelled. A harsh free-kick was awarded against Cajuste on the left, the Sweden international having felt he won the ball. Fernandes whipped the ball over and Morsy, under the attention of Rasmus Hojlund, headed into his own goal. Town appeals for a foul fell on deaf ears with VAR confirming the equaliser, a decision which looked correct. The Blues were making entreaties to referee Darren England at the other end on 25, Maguire appearing to pull back Delap inside the box as the striker held the ball up. But referee England and VAR again ruled against the Blues and a penalty would have been harsh. And a minute later, United went in front from another Fernandes set piece. Maguire again won the corner delivery from the left, his header was stopped by Palmer, who also got down to his right to save Dalot’s subsequent effort, however, De Ligt was on hand to slam the rebound into the roof of the net. United had been unconvincing but Town’s defending from set pieces even more so with Maguire having had his earlier opportunity in addition to the two goals. However, having gained their lead, the home side were looking more at ease and in greater control. On 34 Morsy was booked for a foul on Joshua Zirkzee, the Egypt international’s eighth yellow card of the season with a 10th leading to a two-game ban. Three minutes later, Philogene gifted the ball to Garnacho on the left, the Argentinian international taking it into the area before being outmuscled by Tuanzebe, unfairly according to the home fans and players but referee England showed no interest. Play continued and Palmer saved Dorgu’s effort from distance. On 39, Garnacho broke towards the edge of the area in space before Tuanzebe came across to make an inch-perfect sliding challenge that the Manchester United forward clearly felt. As the half moved into its final five minutes, Dorgu lunged in at Hutchinson on the touchline, catching the former Chelsea man, who was making his 50th start for the club, halfway up his shin. Referee England initially gave nothing but VAR called him over to the screen and, after a lengthy review, Dorgu was shown a straight red card, the first opposition player to be dismissed during a Town game this season. The footage was clear, Dorgu caught Hutchinson with his studs up halfway up his shin and once the referee had seen that, there was little doubt Dorgu would be on his way. United immediately made a change, swapping Garnacho for Mazraoui as they sought to shore things up at the back. But before the Moroccan had settled into the game, with the half in four minutes of injury time, the Blues got back on terms. Philogene crossed from the right towards Delap in the middle, the striker failed to get to get a touch but the ball curled into the corner of the net to send the Town fans wild once again. There was just time for one more incident before the break, Hojlund clashing with O’Shea, leaving him on the floor, then trying to drag the Irishman up off the turf with the Dubliner clearly unimpressed. While the Town support called for a second red card, referee England booked both the United forward and Blues defender. The Town fans cheered the whistle, while the home support booed off the referee, which seemed a little harsh given the nature of the red card. Despite having been handed the lead so early on, the Blues never looked comfortable, even with United having looked lacking in confidence and belief. Town’s failure to defend set pieces allowed the Red Devils the lead, before Dorgu’s red card changed the dynamic of the game in the final minutes, Philogene netting his second slightly fortuitous goal of the match. However, three minutes after the restart, the Blues were made to pay for their weakness on set pieces once again. Fernandes sent over a corner from the right and Maguire was again left unmarked to pick his spot and plant a header beyond Palmer to make it 3-2. Town looked to hit back again, Delap hitting a shot from just outside the area which deflected off a defender and out for a corner. Leif Davis’s flag-kick was headed away by Maguire. But the Blues were unconvincing as they sought a second equaliser, although a Philogene strike from just outside the box was blocked United worked a better chance on the hour, Philogene giving the ball away to Yoro, who got to the byline and crossed to Hojlund, who dummied but with no one behind him. However, Davis slammed it against a United player and not far behind. Soon after Zirkzee had been booked for delaying a restart in the Blues final third, Cajuste saw an effort blocked. Town had been disappointing since the break, the early goal appearing to have knocked the stuffing out of the, but in the 65th minute Clarke played in Cajuste on the left of the area and the on-loan Napoli man cut across the six-yard box to Philogene, but the earlier two-goal scorer bundled the ball out at a tight angle. Although it came to nothing, it was the Blues’ best football of the second half. Town made a double change soon afterwards, Nathan Broadhead and Jack Taylor replacing Hutchinson, who had just undergone treatment for a knock, and Morsy. United swapped Hojlund for Casemiro. On 73, Town worked a clever corner on the left, Clarke playing a short ball to Philogene as the winger came out from the box and the ex-Hull City man laid it off to Taylor on the edge of the area but the Irish international screwed his shot wide, much to his evident frustration. The Blues were now seeing most of the ball but without the guile to find a way passed a United defence which was happy to soak up pressure and make the occasional break. And when they did so they looked more threatening than Town, Mazraoui sliding in just too late to reach at Fernandes cross from the left in the 78th minute. Town, who had continued to make little headway, made another double change in the 81st minute, Davis and Tuanzebe coming off for George Hirst and Ben Johnson with Clarke going to left-back in a 4-2-2-2. The Blues won three corners in quick succession, O’Shea heading wide at the far post from the third of them, Johnson having sent the ball over. On 85, Delap challenged Manuel Ugarte strongly and Mazraoui, who had clashed with the Town striker at Portman Road, slammed into the England U21 international with the game briefly threatening to boil over. Referee England awarded a free-kick and booked both Delap and Mazraoui. With the match in the first of four added minutes, the Blues switched Cajuste for Sammie Szmodics with play subsequently held up as stewards tackled a fan who had run out of the home end towards the pitch. United then switched Zirkzee and Yoro for Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof. The ball was at the Town end in the closing stages, Johnson picking up a booking for a foul on Fernandes before referee England brought the game to a close. A deeply disappointing evening for the Blues who will have no better chance to win at Old Trafford than the position they found themselves in at half-time and put in probably their worst 45 minutes of the season, given the context. Having once again failed to defend a set piece just after the break, they never put the home side under any serious pressure despite the disparity in numbers with the performance lacking drive and guile as the home side dug in and held onto their lead, while looking significantly more dangerous on the break. Town remain five points plus goal difference from safety following the midweek fixtures with the game another they may look back on as a missed opportunity should they be relegated in May. Manchester United: Onana, De Ligt, Maguire, Yoro (Lindelof 92), Dalot, Ugarte, Fernandes (c), Dorgu, Garnacho (Mazraoui 45), Hojlund (Casemiro 67), Zirkzee (Eriksen 92). Unused: Harrison, Graczyk, Heaven, Eriksen, Obi. Town: Palmer, Tuanzebe (Johnson 81), O’Shea, Greaves, Davis (Hirst 81), Morsy (c) (Taylor 66), Cajuste (Szmodics 91), Philogene, Hutchinson (Broadhead 66), Clarke, Delap. Unused: Muric, Woolfenden, Johnson, Townsend, Luongo. Referee: Darren England (Doncaster). VAR official: Craig Pawson. Att: 73,827.
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