RALF IS UP AND RUNNING
Fred hands United’s interim manager a victory for starters at Old Trafford
THERE will be better performances than this by Manchester United under the stewardship of Ralf Rangnick – or at least you hope there will be.
But, as far as their interim manager was concerned, there will be few more important ones as Fred kicked off the German’s reign with a 77th-minute winner.
Victory over Crystal Palace lifted United into sixth place in the Premier League, an ultimately nervy win coming courtesy of the Brazil midfielder’s sixth goal for the club.
Yet Fred’s sweetly-hit rightfoot finish after a move involving Diogo Dalot and substitute Mason Greenwood might well have been an equaliser had Jordan Ayew converted the easiest chance of the afternoon on 76 minutes.
As it was,Ayew, who scores about as often as Fred – he has just 11 league goals in four seasons with Palace – blew his big chance, sidefooting James Tomkins’ headed assist from a corner past goalkeeper David De Gea’s post.
United can look back at an unbeaten run of four matches since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left and forward to a run of fixtures between now and the end of the month which look inviting to say the least.
Young Boys in a Champions League dead rubber is followed by games against Norwich, Brentford, Brighton, Newcastle and Burnley.
If Rangnick has not bridged the three-point gap between his new charges and fourth place by then, he will have had a bad month.
The word ‘control’ had figured highly in Rangnick’s opening address as interim boss on Thursday and was repeated again in his programme notes yesterday.
He said: “If you want to win a football match you have to control it. That means being more proactive with and without the ball.”
His message had clearly got through to everyone, with the front men harrying and
hassling from the off – led, it has to be said, by Cristiano Ronaldo.
In addition to the obvious chasing down, Alex Telles and Dalot pushed up higher and the two centre-backs had clearly been encouraged to attack more aggressively.
The result was a team on the front foot – in a 4-2-2-2 formation – from the start, and it was one which bossed the first half and much of the second.
United saw plenty of the ball and threatened Palace’s goal plenty at Old Trafford, but clear chances for the home team were hard to come by in a first period, which ended goalless. Ronaldo was lively as the spearhead of the attack. He had a shot blocked by Marc Guehi, Bruno Fernandes had a shot palmed away by Vicente Guaita, and both Scott McTominay and Fred had shots blocked.
The second half opened up a little more, particularly after the miss by Ayew, left, and Fred’s goal. But Palace found their forward momentum and ambition way too late. United deserved the win for their intent alone and pleased their interim manager with the intensity of their opening after just one training session in foul weather on Saturday.
Predictably, they were unable to keep up the 100mph opening half-hour for the whole match but fitness levels will presumably improve.
In Fred, Rangnick has a suitable hero. Just three days after stepping on De Gea’s foot to gift the first goal to Arsenal, the Brazilian enjoyed his moment.
One of his best qualities is his energy, but it is closely followed by his ability to keep his head high and legs pumping after a mistake.
He and midfield partner Scott McTominay got through a huge workload yesterday, but Dalot andVictor Lindelof were not far behind him.