Brazilian midfielder Fred curled in a 77th-minute winner as Ralf Rangnick made a winning start as Manchester United’s interim manager with a 1-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford on Sunday.
United had struggled to create clear chances against Patrick Vieira’s well-drilled side but the oft-criticised Fred beat Vicente Guaita with a wonderful strike from the edge of the box after being set up by substitute Mason Greenwood.
Palace should have gone ahead minutes earlier but Jordan Ayew missed from point-blank range at the back post after James Tomkins had headed down a corner.
United moved up to sixth place in the table on 24 points, three behind fourth-placed West Ham.
German Rangnick was leading United for the first time after taking over from caretaker manager Michael Carrick on Friday and made a low-key entrance to his new home ground, with no announcement of his presence.
Former RB Leipzig coach Rangnick has promised to turn United into “pressing monsters” in the manner of Juergen Klopp’s Liverpool but says that approach will take time to instil in the players.
There were clear signs, though, of that shift in emphasis in the opening 25 minutes as United’s forward players closed down the Palace defenders and limited their ability to play out from the back.
“I am very happy with the way the team performed, especially the first half hour, with the pressing, it was exceptional. The only thing missing was the 1-0 or 2-0,” Rangnick told reporters.
“The way we defended, we had control of the whole game, clean sheet was the most important part.
“These are the things we must improve. We need to keep clean sheets. With just the one training session, I was really impressed. We did much better than expected,” he said.
United struggled to build on the promising start losing their way after the break with sloppy passing and a drop off in their movement and pressure.
Then came Fred’s moment of inspiration and the defensive midfielder, whose limitations have drawn plenty of criticism during United’s poor start to the season, was mobbed by teammates in celebration.
“Fred has these moments, one shot per year. Everyone is happy for him because he’s such a nice guy. He works a lot and people don’t talk about him. He deserves the praise,” said Fernandes.
Spurs on ascent
An early goal from Lucas Moura and two after half-time from Davinson Sanchez and Son Heung-min ensured a third successive league win for Tottenham Hotspur as they beat Norwich City 3-0 at home.
Victory lifted Spurs into fifth place with 25 points from 14 matches.
Moura gave the home side a 10th-minute lead with a shot from outside the penalty area that proved as impressive a finish as the slick build-up that led to it.
Sanchez thrashed home a loose ball from close range from Son’s corner to double the lead after 67 minutes and effectively snuff out some enterprising passages of play from struggling Norwich.
