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A victory snatched from the jaws of defeat should give a new manager hope that there is fight among his charges, that the future is bright.
Not for Ruben Amorim. Rasmus Hojlund stepped off the bench to fire Manchester United to a lofty fifth in the Europa League standings – heady heights indeed – but the performance on a bitterly cold night in Plzen was worrying in the extreme.
Amorim became only the third United manager to win both of his first two matches in major European competition in charge of the club, after Matt Busby and Alex Ferguson, as his side picked up their first away success in Europe since March 2023.
That, however, is where the positives end. United returned to their uninterested, fragile selves to stutter over the line against a vastly inferior Viktoria Plzen – another stark reminder of where the club is at.
The insipid spectacle on show certainly ruined a fun afternoon supporters had been having around the city of beer.
Plzen’s quaint Christmas market offered up a smorgasbord of delights to help everyone forget, with pints of the city’s famous pilsner flowing as the smell of cinnamon and mulled cider filled the air.
The rather modest Doosan Arena was a fitting reminder of how far the club has fallen. Plzen had adopted a slogan of sorts for the match, which didn’t quite work either: “Red is not enough, but with blue it is tough”.
A pre-match tifo of the devil grappling with Jesus was perfectly apt for what was to follow. Evil certainly overcame good.
United were beyond bad. Joshua Zirkzee lost possession 11 times inside the opening half hour alone, the visitors did not muster a shot on target in that time, while Andre Onana, the one bright light amid the litany of gloom hanging over the club, looked shaky after his struggles at the weekend.
It was all too easy for Plzen, who sat back and soaked up the pressure. Or lack thereof. Bruno Fernandes’ shot from distance, which was easily saved, was the only effort of note in the entire opening period.
Amorim cut a frustrated figure on the touchline. He covered more ground than his forwards in an attempt to rouse something, anything from his charges.
Local journalists found what they were witnessing unfathomable. “Who is this team?” one asked. An unanswerable question.
Less than three minutes into the second half, we got our answer. Onana tried to pick out Matthijs de Ligt, got it all kinds of wrong, allowing United fan Pavel Sulc in, who squared for English football journeyman Matej Vydra to break the deadlock.
Amorim disappeared back to his bench. When United are in self-destruct mode, the manager is powerless.
Hojlund replaced the ineffective Marcus Rashford, with Amorim not even able to bring himself to look the forlorn forward in the eye as he trudged off, the Dane at least offering an outlet Zirkzee was incapable of bringing to the table.
Amad Diallo at least has some life in him, creating something out of nothing to bring about a somewhat undeserved equaliser, his run and shot blocked before Hojlund was on hand to tap into the empty net.
Mason Mount also stepped off the bench and could have completed the turnaround late on, with two goalbound efforts saved by Martin Jedlicka in the home goal.
Hojlund, taking his tally to 10 in 12 in Europe for United, did just that, slotting home with composure conspicuous by its absence among his teammates to steer United to the brink of at least the play-offs for the Europa League last 16.
They did not deserve anything to show for their efforts, however. Amorim needs these reminders, with past glories shoved in his face on a daily basis around Carrington. His renovation work is still struggling to lay any form of foundations. The materials on hand aren’t making it easy for him.
