Fred delivers fresh start but not redemption for Manchester United | Jonathan Liew

The Ralf Rangnick era begins with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace but it would be wrong to read too much into the victory

New managers get the benefit of the doubt. Even language breaks their way. A 1-0 win against Crystal Palace that might have been described as streaky under Ole Gunnar Solskjær becomes a hard-fought three points under Ralf Rangnick. While Solskjær showed “indecision” in delaying his substitutions, here Rangnick confidently “bided his time”. A fortnight ago, this was a performance that would have “papered over the cracks”. Now, it is a “platform to build on”.

And so for all the temptation to read the early runes, to derive immutable learnings from these 90 minutes against limited opposition, it’s probably worth pointing out at the outset that none of this really means anything yet. It was possible, if you were that way inclined, to glimpse in this game the rebirth of United as an elite pressing team, the redemption of Fred, the end of the road for Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Donny van de Beek. In reality it was three points and a fresh start, and how painfully United were in need of both.

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