sport news made a positive start under Ralf Rangnick by winning 1-0 ...

sport news made a positive start under Ralf Rangnick by winning 1-0 ...
sport news Manchester United made a positive start under Ralf Rangnick by winning 1-0 ...

Control. It’s been the buzzword since Ralf Rangnick was appointed by Manchester United, and in that sense this was a very encouraging start to his stint as interim manager.

‘If you want to win a football match, you have to control it, so the aim right now is to help the team control games more,’ Rangnick wrote in his first programme notes before beating Crystal Palace on Sunday. ‘Finding a way to win this first game is my only focus.’

And find it, he did, even though United weren’t in total control and it took 77 minutes for Fred to emerge as the unlikely hero against obdurate opponents.

Rangnick will settle for this – certainly after just one rainswept training session since taking the reins from caretaker Michael Carrick – and the signs were there that he can make a significant difference.

Much like his players on the pitch, Ralf Rangnick looked in control on the touchline on Sunday

Much like his players on the pitch, Ralf Rangnick looked in control on the touchline on Sunday

KING RALF

As introductions go, it was of the more subdued variety as Rangnick emerged from the tunnel shortly before kick-off and made his way quietly to the technical area where he stayed for most of the game.

When he got there, Rangnick turned and offered a gentle nod to the main stand at Old Trafford where United luminaries Sir Alex Ferguson, Denis Law and Wayne Rooney were sitting, but there was certainly no great fanfare for the German.

At one stage before half-time, he rushed off the pitch to retrieve the ball so United could restart play as quickly as possible, in stark contrast to Palace boss Patrick Vieira who seemed more interested in starting a chat with Diogo Dalot when he got hold of the ball two minutes later.

Rangnick could not contain his excitement when his side found the breakthrough late on

Rangnick could not contain his excitement when his side found the breakthrough late on

Indeed, Rangnick displayed little emotion until 13 minutes from time when Fred’s sumptuous finish brought a clenched fist celebration.

At full-time he raised his arms in the air and shook hands with United’s technical director Darren Fletcher before congratulating his players and reciprocating the applause from supporters as he headed back down the tunnel.

PRESS GANG

So how much of an impact could the godfather of gegenpressing make in the short time available to him?

Well, inside four minutes Bruno Fernandes rushed in to make an interception to set up a chance for Marcus Rashford and the crowd roared again soon afterwards when Cristiano Ronaldo closed down Marc Guehi and Scott McTominay threw himself at Tyrick Mitchell.

Bruno Fernandes set the tone by putting Crystal Palace's players under pressure early on

Bruno Fernandes set the tone by putting Crystal Palace's players under pressure early on

It couldn’t

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