United 1-0 Palace: Three Best Players From Ralf Rangnick’s First Game

Manchester United stepped into the Ralf Rangnick era with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace.

The German had to wait until the 77th minute for his side to break the visitor’s resistance, but for the large parts of both the halves  they remained in control – the word Rangnick consistently emphasised in his first press conference as United’s interim manager.

The majority of the United squad responded to his approach on Sunday, impressively without even a full training session under the new gaffer. Here are the three standout players from day one of Rangnick’s revolution:

 

Diogo Dalot

The Portuguese was preferred to Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right back after his showings against Arsenal, and he justified the manager’s decision with yet another impressive display going forward.

He played a vital role in United’s goal, as he took on his man before firing a pass into the box to Mason Greenwood, who rolled the ball to Fred for the winner. Deserves to keep his place for now.

 

Victor Lindelof

In Rangnick’s first game in charge, United kept their first clean sheet at Old Trafford this season, largely thanks to the commanding centre-back pairing of Harry Maguire and Lindelof.

The Swede, in particular, was immense, as he won most of his duels and stepped out calmly with the ball to progress the play when required.

 

Fred

The Brazilian was at the forefront of everything Rangnick would’ve wanted to see from his players.

Fred racked up striking numbers in both possession won and passes into the final third, and capped off his performance with a curler past Vicente Guaita to secure all three points for his side.

Rangnick revealed he had heard a lot from Solskjaer about the midfielder, and if his first performance under the 63-year-old is anything to go by, United’s next man in charge might get the similar appraisal from the interim boss.