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Cristiano Ronaldo reacted on Instagram after Manchester United registered their first win under new interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
Manchester United registered a 1-0 victory over Patrick Viera’s Crystal Palace with Fred scoring a 77th minute worldly. The team started with the same exact lineup that Michael Carrick chose during the recent Premier League 3-2 victory over Arsenal.
Diego Dalot and Alex Telles were both handed starts again while club captain Harry Maguire partnered Victor Lindelof. Rangnick stuck with a double pivot of Scott McTominay and Brazilian Fred in midfield. 36-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo started his second game in three days with Marcus Rashford on his preferred left wing. This allowed Jadon Sancho to play on the right.
After an intense start to the game, Manchester United lost a bit of steam in the second half. However, Fred scored from outside the box with his right foot. Manchester United defended well in the final 10 minutes to come away with the victory.
After the game, Cristiano Ronaldo posted the following message on Instagram:
“Step by step, we stand United!”
Cristiano Ronaldo plays 90 minutes in Ralf Rangnick’s first Manchester United game in-charge
Ralf Rangnick pointed out during his first press conference that he will only get one training session with the entire team. The same XI played against Arsenal on Thursday and were only involved in light training on Friday. However, Manchester United looked a far different team. Many fans claiming on Reddit that this was the best they have played in recent years.
Rangnick only swapped Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford. The team played an intense brand of high-pressing football in the first half. The defenders maintained an extraordinarily high line throughout the game, with Maguire and Lindelof spending most of the game in Palace’s half.
The high tempo was accompanied by bombing fullbacks who provided width. They allowed the wingers to play on the interior for much of the game. United had Palace pegged back in their own half while maintaining a high line. This showed fans a glimpse of the top-class attacking play the team is easily capable of.
Less space for attack meant that United relied on short passes, fast interchange and a switch of wings. Fred was easily the man of the match. He was everywhere and did not seem to stop running throughout the game. The rest of the team, apart from perhaps the fullbacks and Cristiano Ronaldo, looked tired after the hour mark.
However, the same team played a few days ago, and had only got a couple of days of training under Ralf Rangnick. Fred’s performance was capped off by an outstanding right-foot finish that the Brazilian was especially delighted with. Under Ralf Rangnick, he could be the player who becomes an integral part of the midfield engine for Manchester United.
