Man Utd boss Rangnick ‘very happy’ with win in first match

Jason Soutar
Ralf Rangnick applauds the fans

Ralf Rangnick says he is “very happy” with Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace, whilst praising the off the ball work of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Red Devils performed well, with Fred coming up with a wonderful strike to break the deadlock in the 77th minute.

It was Rangnick’s first game in charge after Michael Carrick took charge of three games following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer last month.


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Carrick picked up wins against Arsenal and Villarreal whilst drawing at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.

On Sunday’s win over Palace, Rangnick said: “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.

“The way we defended, we had control of the whole game, the 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.

“We always tried to be on the front foot. We were never not apart from maybe the last five minutes. At all other times we were trying to keep them away from our goal.

“It’s always easier to build on things after you’re successful. We must produce further clean sheets and get better at creating chances for our attack. Overall I was very pleased with the way we played today.”

The German also praised Ronaldo’s work rate, adding: “We wanted to play with two strikers, especially in the central position. By the way, Cristiano Ronaldo’s work off the ball, chapeau.”

On Fred’s goal, he said: “I had to ask my assistant coach if that was Fred’s right foot. I thought he could only shoot with his left. I’m happy for him.”