Agency Report

Ralf Rangnick praised Manchester United’s “exceptional” play after starting his reign with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday as Tottenham crushed Norwich 3-0 to extend their recent revival under Antonio Conte.

The new interim manager named an unchanged side at Old Trafford after United beat Arsenal 3-2 in midweek under the temporary stewardship of Michael Carrick.

The German boss was rewarded with a high-energy performance in the first half, backed by a vocal crowd, and although their levels dipped in the second period, the much-maligned Fred produced a moment of magic.

It was the club’s first clean sheet at home this season after a series of chaotic performances in recent weeks under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was sacked last month.

“I am very happy with the way the team performed, especially the first half hour, with the pressing, it was exceptional,” the German told the BBC. “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.”