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A lot has changed at Manchester United in the last few days, with the most notable being Ralf Rangnick’s arrival in the Old Trafford dugout.
The German manager was unveiled on Friday, trained the team for the first time on Saturday, and took charge of his first official game on Sunday. Everything has happened so quickly, but there are also some positive signs already. Against Crystal Palace on Sunday, Manchester United were livelier than they’ve been all season.
The Red Devils controlled the game better. For the first time in a long while, they played like a structured unit that knew what they were doing on the pitch.
Pressing Red Devils beat Crystal Palace
Rangnick was brought in to change a lot of things at the club. But he deployed the same starting XI that played in Michael Carrick’s last game in charge.
The only change was a switch in the formation to a 4-2-2-2, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford leading as the front two. Moreover, the entire team pressed in coordination.
In the first 30 minutes, especially, United pressed and kept Palace in check. Although they couldn’t sustain the press for 90 minutes, their performance was enough to claim all three points.
Fred scored the first goal of the Rangnick era, placing the ball into the top left corner in the 77th minute. It was a special goal from the Brazilian. But the fact that he found himself in such an advanced position explains what Rangnick’s system is all about.
Rangnick makes winning debut for Manchester United
It’s always great for a manager to begin his stint with victory. Ralf Rangnick was evidently very delighted to begin his Manchester United stint with a win.
The team may have struggled a bit. But he has had just one training session with them, and they are still adapting to his methods. What is clear, though, is that the Red Devils are beginning to play with a distinct identity.
"Overall, I'm happy. I'm positively surprised how many things they brought on the pitch, bearing in mind we had not even a full training session yesterday,” Rangnick said after the game, as quoted by Manutd.com.
“The first half-hour was amazing, I thought, with high speed, high intensity, high tempo. We were always on the front foot during the game, and the only thing missing in that part of the game was missing scoring one, two or even three goals.
Rangnick was delighted with Fred’s goal, saying:
“In the end we scored a beautiful goal by Fred with his strong right foot (smiles). No, everything's fine. In the last three minutes, obviously, they took all the risks with a few corner kicks and free-kicks, but we defended everything well."
Manchester United have rarely controlled games this season. But they showed a lot of control against Crystal Palace, and, on another day, the scoreline could have been much bigger.
However, one game is not enough to judge the level of the team. Ralf Rangnick’ main task now will be to ensure that Manchester United keep winning and maintain their consistency.
