101 Great Goals
Manchester United would play host to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
The game would be Ralf Rangnick’s first game in the Manchester United dugout.
United headed into the encounter having begun to string together a decent run of results under Michael Carrick.
Crystal Palace, on the other hand, have dipped off a fair bit since their huge 2-0 win over Manchester City.
As a result, a win for the Red Devils was expected on the day. And, when all was said and done, this is exactly what transpired.
Manchester United dominated proceedings but took until the 77th minute to open the scoring. Cristiano Ronaldo laid off the ball to Fred, who curled an effort into the top corner of Palace’s net. And this strike would be enough to secure Rangnick his first win as United boss.
Here are five things 101 learned from the match.
Ralf Rangnick’s instant impact
Ralf Rangnick has been in charge of Manchester United for only a few days, with Michael Carrick still at the helm on Thursday evening.
Despite this, the German has already seemingly had an instant impact in Manchester.
Rangnick is, of course, very well known for his pressing football, with the former RB Leipzig man affectionately dubbed ‘the godfather of gegenpressing’.
Man United, though, have been anything but a pressing team over the last few years, with their attempts to press sides often leading to them becoming very exposed and not even winning the ball back.
However, Rangnick’s instant impact was clear to see after just a few minutes against Palace. The entire United team were not only pressing, but pressing in a coherent, organised fashion, which, in turn, led to Man United causing the Eagles problems and creating several chances.
Of course, it will take some time for Rangnick to get United pressing as effectively as he would like, whilst the players will also likely need to build up the required fitness to press properly for 90 minutes every game.
But the signs are certainly there that Man United are beginning a positive new period under their new manager.
A change of formation
Though Manchester United lined up with the exact same XI they had from Michael Carrick’s game in charge, Rangnick had the Reds set up in a new system.
Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United had begun to experiment with a 3-5-2, whilst also playing regularly with their go-to 4-2-3-1.
Vs Palace, though, Man United lined up with a 4-2-2-2, which saw Marcus Rashford partner Cristiano Ronaldo up top, with Bruno Fernandes and Jadon Sancho providing the width.
The formation is a favourite of Rangnick’s and does make it easier for him to implement his pressing style. As a result, United fans will likely be seeing it used on a regular basis going forward…
