In last Sundays Premier League fixture, Manchester United beat Crystal Palace at Old Trafford it was Ralf Rangnick’s first game in charge as the interim coach. After Michael Carrick passed on the team, the former RB Leipzig and Lokomotiv Moskva director did not even have full training sessions. Instead, he could only conduct video meetings to transmit his basic principles to the players. Intriguingly, the Red Devils were smart enough to execute some of the key concepts of his philosophy, which was demonstrated in this game.
This tactical analysis will give a detailed analysis on how Manchester United performed, and what was observed in this game.
Lineups
Rangnick was clear about what he wanted from the team, hence, played with a 4-4-2 formation with some interesting selections. The midfield partnership he chose was Fred and Scott McTominay, which was almost perfect without possession on that day. Meanwhile, the four attackers chosen were Jadon Sancho, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, and Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mason Greenwood and Donny van de Beek started on the bench.
Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira played his team in a 4-2-3-1, which was a variation from his usual 4-3-3 but did not matter greatly as the principles of plays were unchanged. Only two changes were made compared to the previous game, Nathaniel Clyne and Christian Benteke were the starters at the expense of Osdonne Édouard.
