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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Daniel Murphy

Bruno Fernandes explains change Erik ten Hag has made at Manchester United

Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United are already playing a lot more aggressively in how they press under Erik ten Hag.

United's pre-season rolled on with a third victory from as many matches on Tuesday as they defeated Crystal Palace 3-1 in a dominant and comprehensive display. Ten Hag once again named a strong starting XI and the opening hour of the match saw some brilliant, attacking football.

Anthony Martial scored for a third game in succession as he brought down Diogo Dalot's clipped pass on his chest before hammering home. The score was doubled just after the break when a great team move involving Martial, Jadon Sancho and finally Donny van de Beek saw Marcus Rashford tap in.

Read more: United players ratings vs Crystal Palace

Martial was once again at the heart of the action for the third strike as his smart flick sent Sancho through on goal and he remained composed to score. United lost their control as a raft of changes were made around the hour-mark, which led to Joel Ward pulling a goal back before Will Fish was dismissed for a professional foul.

On the whole, though, it was another promising performance from United, and Fernandes explained how United have already changed under the new manager. "We’ve been most aggressive now," he told MUTV after the game.

"The three guys up front have been aggressive when they pressed, it's been strong, it’s made the last line squeeze, the midfielders too and when we turn over the ball we’re closer to the goal. We have freedom, there’s lots of spaces in the middle and we’re better on the ball too.

"We feel good, the results help on that, playing good football a lot of things to improve yet but we’ll have time to do that and be ready for the first game of the season."

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