Harry Maguire's headed goal secured a 3-2 win for a 10-player Manchester United against Ipswich Town on Wednesday, a crucial triumph that propelled Ruben Amorim's beleaguered team out of the relegation zone in the Premier League.
Since joining the team in November, Amorim has had a terrible season, particularly at home, and more suffering at Old Trafford is certain as poor defense allowed Jaden Philogene to score Ipswich's early opening.
But United rallied and reversed the tide of the game, with Matthijs de Ligt's close-range shot and an own goal from Ipswich skipper Sam Morsy putting the home team ahead after 26 minutes.
The momentum of the game shifted once more when United defender Patrick Dorgu was shown a red card two minutes before halftime for a reckless challenge on Omari Hutchinson. The resulting 10-man team quickly conceded a goal, once again scored by Philogene of Ipswich.
Maguire won the game just after halftime to give United a victory that put them in 14th place in the rankings, 16 points ahead of Ipswich in 18th, despite the visiting team having the whole second half to capitalize on their numerical advantage.
Amorim freely acknowledges that players feel greater pressure on their home field, demonstrating his awareness that United has to improve their performance the most at home.
The hosts had dropped five of their last seven home league games going into Wednesday's matchup with Ipswich, which came nearly 30 years after United's historic 9-0 thumping of the same opponents.
Amorim didn't need to fall behind nearly instantly with another goal that was a complete disaster due to United's own actions.
A long ball was over the top, and André Onana ran out to collect it, but Dorgu, the wing-back, missed his goalie and was touched, pushing the ball into the open goal, where Philogene had the easy job of tapping it in.
United struggled under difficult circumstances, but they achieved their first goal without a penalty in the first half in 18 games across all competitions thanks to a fizzing free kick from Bruno Fernandes that went in off Morsy.
Four minutes later, the reversal was complete as Alex Palmer, the goalkeeper for Ipswich, made two excellent saves but was unable to stop De Ligt's close-range strike.
United appeared to be in charge, but they kept shooting themselves in the foot when the referee deemed Dorgu's challenge on Hutchinson unsafe after checking the pitchside monitor.
Four minutes later, the ten men let up a goal that Onana would definitely not want to witness again, as Philiogene's cross slipped past everyone and into the far corner.
Despite their numerical advantage, Ipswich seldom ever attacked the home goal again after Maguire's more forceful strike.
United demonstrated strong perseverance in the final moments of the match, eliciting an audible exhale of relief from the home crowd as they secured their first home league victory in four matches. This win significantly decreases the likelihood of United being caught in a relegation battle.