Patrick Vieira has revealed that the appointment of Ralf Rangnick had a major impact on how Crystal Palace approached their Premier League game with Manchester United. According to Palace manager Vieira, though, a draw would have been a fairer result. During his post-match press conference, the Palace manager highlighted one key moment which went against his side and assessed what impact Rangnick might have at United after stepping into the hot seat.
Patrick Vieira said: “I thought the game would finish with a draw. Neither side created too many chances. When we had that chance with Jordan [Ayew] we didn’t take it. Against the big teams you get punished. In these games you have to score those. He’s a team player and does fantastic work outside possession, but forwards are judged by goals they score. I’m really disappointed because he deserved to score. I think we weren’t brave enough to play out the back. We were missing players, there was a lack of confidence in possession. We didn’t allow ourselves to play. With the new manager, we didn’t know how they would play. But we prepared with our shape. When you look at their chances, I think a draw would have been a fair result. It’s important to win football matches but at the same time you have to look at performances. We are really close. We have to take it on the chin and keep working.”