Rangnick happy with Palace win but says - ‘We must get better at creating chances.’

FT: Man Utd 1-0 Crystal Palace

Ralf Rangnick's Manchester United tenure began with a win at Old Trafford as the Red Devils beat Vieira’s Crystal Palace.

Ranf Rangnick lauds Man Utd win over Crystal Place

Ralf Rangnick was happy his role as interim manager at Manchester United started with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.

The Red Devils pressed, attacked, and created loads of chances in the first half but couldn’t find a way to break down a resilient Palace side.

Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo both had chances but were unable to hit the back of the net and the south London side continued to frustrate the hosts as the first half ended 0-0.

The second half epitomised the first until Brazil midfield marshal Fred smashed home Mason Greenwood’s pass.

It was not the perfect win but there was clear evidence of Rangnick’s print beginning to show in United’s display.

After the clash, the German lauded his side’s approach to the game and expressed his delight at Ronaldo’s work rate.

'Ronaldo's work off the ball, chapeau'

Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick, speaking to Match of the Day: "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 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. "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, Rangnick 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. "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 victory means Rangnick follows three of United's other four managers, who won their first game since Sir Alex Ferguson retired back in 2013, with Louis van Gaal being the only exception.

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