MY ACCOUNT
Fred scored the only goal of the game as Manchester United started Ralf Rangnick’s reign with a 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.
United made a blistering start to their first game under interim manager Rangnick, but they were frustrated by a well-drilled Palace side for much of the game.
Alex Telles struck the crossbar before Fred’s clinical finish secured all three points for the Red Devils on Sunday.
Victory for United boosted their bid to secure a Champions League spot as Palace suffered their first defeat at Old Trafford for over four years.
United showed the intensity Rangnick demands from the start with a high-press approach and Telles flashed an early shot narrowly wide.
The Red Devils were relentless as they continued to pen Palace in, James Tomkins blocking a well-struck drive from Fred before Vicente Guaita denied Bruno Fernandes.
Patrick Vieira’s side weathered the storm but Diogo Dalot wasted a chance to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time, failing to hit the target when he let fly with his left foot from inside the penalty area.
United did not muster such a threat early in the second half and Rangnick replaced Jadon Sancho with Mason Greenwood just after the hour mark.
Telles clipped the top of the crossbar with a whipped free-kick from wide on the right and Jordan Ayew missed a glorious chance to put Palace in front from close range.
Fred produced the quality in the final third that had been lacking to send the United fans into raptures, finding the far corner with a measured right-foot finish from just outside the box.
What does it mean? Persistence pays off for United
United had a long wait for the breakthrough but they were good value for an elusive home win over Palace, who had won twice and drawn on their previous three visits to Old Trafford.
Rangnick must have been hugely impressed with the energy and desire shown by what was an unchanged side following a win over Arsenal in previous caretaker boss Michael Carrick’s last game in charge, but he will expect better than three shots on target from 16 in total.
United are up to sixth, three points behind fourth-placed West Ham, while that is three defeats in a row for Palace.
Fred proving his worth
Midfielder Fred has now scored twice this season, as many as he had scored in his previous three campaigns with the club.
The Brazil international showed great quality to pick out the far corner of the net and his match-winning strike was reward for a combative display from start to finish.
Costly miss from Ayew
You have to go back over a year for Ayew’s last Palace goal and he will not have many better chances to end that wait than when he prodded across goal just before Fred’s winner.
There is no questioning the Ghana international’s work rate, but he needs to start firing before too long.
Key Opta Facts
– Ralph Rangnick became the sixth German to manage in the Premier League and the first to win his first game in charge in the competition (Felix Magath, Jurgen Klopp, Jan Siewert, Daniel Farke and Thomas Tuchel all failed to do so before him).
– Following this win, six of the past seven managers (including caretakers) have won their opening game in charge of Manchester United in all competitions, with Louis van Gaal being the only exception during this period (a 1-2 loss against Swansea City at Old Trafford in August 2014).
– United kept their first clean sheet at Old Trafford in all competitions since April against Granada in the Europa League (2-0), having conceded in 15 consecutive home matches prior to today.
– Fred has scored twice in 12 Premier League matches this season, as many as he scored in 76 appearances in his first three seasons in the competition beforehand.
What’s next?
United take on Young Boys on Wednesday their place in the last 16 of the Champions League already secured. Palace are at home to Everton next Sunday.
