After whisperings of potential interference in the team selections made by Michael Carrick following the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, there was no doubting this was the start of the Ralf Rangnick era at Manchester United.
In the dugout at Old Trafford as the home team manager for the first time, the German took encouragement from what he saw.
Almost from the moment United kicked off against Crystal Palace, Rangnick’s influence was clear.
What formation did Rangnick use?
While Solskjaer favoured a 4-2-3-1 shape that became a 4-3-3 out of possession, the Old Trafford outfit played in a 4-2-2-2 formation, the system Rangnick is renowned for as a coach.
Remarkably for a team that had just two full training sessions under their new boss, Manchester United pressed proactively high up the pitch with more cohesion than they have at any point over the last few years.
'Urgency and high pressing'
There was an urgency to their play that had Palace hanging on for much of the opening 35 minutes.
Indeed, the first half was United’s strongest of the season for passes into the final third (48), touches in the opposition box (26), passes into the opposition box (26) and possession won in the final third (six).
And yet the breakthrough didn’t come until the 77th minute, hinting at some of the issues Rangnick has yet to solve.
Can Manchester United press for 90 minutes?
United’s intensity dropped dramatically in the second half.
That was unsurprising given the major increase in the pressing and closing down being done by a team that hasn’t played this way for the last three seasons.
More concerning, however, was the hastiness to go long once those energy levels dipped.
Palace's 0.69 xG is the least a team has created against Man Utd since Newcastle on 11 September.
— Sporting Life Football & Infogol (@InfogolApp) December 5, 2021
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United could only restrict their opponents to <1 xG twice in 16 matches this season.
Ralf Rangnick and Michael Carrick did so in their first games in charge. pic.twitter.com/Ffi9cJfbQz
Bruno Fernandes was guilty of sending passes 40 yards forward from deep when he would have been better keeping hold of the ball to suffocate Palace and build pressure.
Fooled by the prospect of finding a teammate on the break, the Portuguese midfielder made some poor decisions.
If Fernandes was the player who embodied Solskjaer’s time as United manager, he now stands as proof of the challenge ahead of Rangnick.
There is no doubting the hardware at Old Trafford, but Manchester United are a team without a hard drive and Rangnick has been hired to re-programme them.
The opening 45 minutes hinted at how Rangnick could change United, but the second period served as a reminder of all that has held them back until now.
Faced with a deeper and deeper low defensive block, the hosts lacked creativity. This was the thing that limited the success of Solskjaer’s side.
New stars could emerge in Rangnick's United
Of course, much of this is down to the lack of structure in United’s attacking play.
While Rangnick has already made progress in giving his team a degree of control and a more defined shape out-of-possession, the patterns of play in the final third are still largely missing.
The relationships between the likes of Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford, Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho are not yet strong enough.
⏱ FT
— Sporting Life Football & Infogol (@InfogolApp) December 5, 2021
👹 Manchester United - 1 (0.90 xG)
🦅 Crystal Palace - 0 (0.69 xG)
A winning start for Ralf Rangnick at Old Trafford. His side created <1 Expected Goals from 16 attempts. pic.twitter.com/DoKtYpLTNp
Even at this early stage of his United tenure, though, Rangnick’s favourites are starting to emerge.
Diogo Dalot didn’t just start on the right side of the defence over Aaron Wan-Bissaka, he was given an important role, charged with pressing high up the pitch to congest the midfield when out of possession.
Dalot made six ball recoveries, three successful tackles and two successful crosses, delivering on both sides of the ball.
On the opposite wing, Alex Telles made more interceptions and tackles (11) than any other player on the pitch.
With Solskjaer gone, a greater focus will now be placed on Manchester United’s full backs.
Fred is another who appears to have quickly absorbed Rangnick’s methods and ideas with the Brazilian’s energy setting the tone for the midfield block, and scoring the winner.
Even Cristiano Ronaldo, whose inability or unwillingness to press has been much-discussed this season, played his part in the fluid, interchangeable frontline, firing off five shots in the opening 30 minutes.
Signed to be a solution to Manchester United’s right wing problem, Sancho was deployed in a more central position in Rangnick’s first match in charge.
While the England international had the freedom to drift, with Sancho frequently seeking space on the left side, he was often so close to Fernandes they could hold hands.
This might have been an unorthodox use of Sancho, but it demonstrated how eager Rangnick is to get attacking players in between the lines.
The 21-year-old also helped overload the central areas which gave Manchester United a counter-pressing structure, something Rangnick always looks for.
One match is the smallest possible sample size and doesn’t provide enough evidence to base any solid judgements on, but as an introduction it did a good job of showing Manchester United what to expect from Rangnick, and also showing Rangnick what to expect from his new players.
