Manchester United continued their excellent start in life under Eric ten Hag With 3-1 win over Crystal Palace in which her attack purred Down Under.
Anthony Martial looks like a born-again striker as he scored his third goal in three preseason games, while Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were also rewarded for their enterprising performances by finishing on the top scorers chart.
Lost by several first-team regulars, Palace hardly threatened up front as United dominated but Joel Ward headed home a consolation.
Here, Sportsmail’s CHRIS WHEELER addresses five things we learned from another pre-season win for United under Ten Hag.
Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 3-1 in a pre-season friendly on Tuesday
Maguire has had a rude awakening in Melbourne
While Harry Maguire had hoped he could put a difficult season behind him and make a fresh start under Erik ten Hag, the Manchester United captain had a rude awakening at MCG.
Maguire was booed every time he touched the ball in the first half, which worries the player and his club as most fans here were supportive of United and not Crystal Palace.
Club sources at the Melbourne stadium blamed the “pantomime booing” on a minority of local fans and there was certainly anti-Maguire sentiment among some individuals heading for the game.
Harry Maguire was booed every time he touched the ball early in Tuesday’s friendly
It was a largely partisan Manchester United crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
He (left) was mocked as he led the team out after retaining Manchester United’s captaincy
But the fact that Maguire is being targeted before the start of the season does not bode well. The £80m United defender struggled for form last season and was dropped before the end of the campaign. He was booed in England’s service against Ivory Coast in March and his family were the victims of a bomb threat at their home in Cheshire the following month.
Ten Hag gave Maguire a vote of confidence by allowing him to keep the captain’s armband but warned it would not guarantee him a starting spot and the decision to spend £55.3m for Lisandro Martinez will increase the competition for spots in the Reinforce central defence.
Maguire almost scored with a shot before half-time and the booing died down in the second half so he can only hope this was an isolated incident.
Martial’s turnaround under Ten Hag continues
Anthony Martial was one of the tour’s success stories and raised hopes that the Frenchman could revive his United career.
When Martial stepped in for Cristiano Ronaldo in attack in the opening game against Liverpool in Bangkok, it felt like an out of necessity move that would have little bearing on the 26-year-old’s expected exit this summer.
Martial has frustrated a number of United managers and when he went to Sevilla on a stunning loan back in January it felt like the end of his Old Trafford career.
But he has scored in all three games on the tour, equaling his total for all of last season when he scored a lone United goal against Everton in October, one for France against Ukraine and one for Sevilla against Dynamo Zagreb.
Anthony Martial opened the scoring with his third goal in as many games in preparation
Martial seems more committed under Erik ten Hag and it will almost feel like a signing
Here Martial scored in the 17th minute when he chested Diogo Dalot’s cross and volleyed from close range. He was also involved in United’s second and third goals after half-time, bringing down Victor Lindelof’s long pass with an exquisite touch before snatching the ball away from goalkeeper Remi Matthews when Marcus Rashford scored. He then shoved through a clever pass to allow Jadon Sancho to continue and beat Matthews.
Martial seems more committed under Erik ten Hag and it will almost feel like a signing for United if the Dutchman can continue to give the unpredictable striker a voice. Given that Ronaldo is unlikely to be fit for the start of the season – assuming he stays at United and returns to training at some point – Martial has firmly placed himself in the battle for the lead.
Promising signs for United in the pre-season
You have to remember that it’s pre-season and there’s only so much to read into these results, but the fact remains that Ten Hag now have three straight wins with an aggregate record of 11-2.
Liverpool were undercooked in Bangkok, Melbourne Victory are an average A-League side and Crystal Palace arrived in Australia with just 10 first-team players. Still, this has been an encouraging tour for United, not only in terms of results but also in terms of performance under their new manager.
There was an interesting approach from Ten Hag in that game as he decided to keep his first team on the pitch until the 65th minute before making extensive substitutions.
Erik ten Hag now has three wins in a row with an aggregate score of 11-2
The Dutchman changed all 10 field players at half-time in the first two games, but only brought Donny van de Beek to the break.
United were three goals clear when the changes were made and Palace came into play afterwards. David de Gea, the only player who continued, will be disappointed that he was unable to parry Joel Ward’s header from a corner, having just made his best save of the game.
Things got worse for United when teenage substitute Will Fish – who was flown out here to replace Axel Tuanzebe – was less than 20 minutes before he was sent off for a foul.
Malacia already looks at home at United
Tyrell Malacia wasted no time making a name for himself at United after joining the club from Feyenoord for £14.6million.
Malacia looked good in training in Bangkok last week and as a second-half substitute in the opening two games against Liverpool and Melbourne Victory.
The Dutch full-back, who was promoted to Ten Hags Senior XI to make his first start for the club against Crystal Palace at the MCG, needed less than 17 minutes to be involved in United’s opening goal.
New signing Tyrell Malacia has wasted no time making a name for himself at United
The Dutch full-back needed less than 17 minutes to be involved in United’s opening goal
Malacia came down on the left and played the ball into Dalot, whose pass Martial selected to score.
Dalot has also looked very lively on tour, establishing himself as the first-choice right-back ahead of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Malacia is expected to provide the main rival for Luke Shaw at left-back with Alex Telles and Brandon Williams further down the pecking order if they are still at the club when the September 1 transfer window closes.
All white at night
United’s marketing department never misses a trick. Three days after the club’s new away kit was unveiled in Melbourne, it came as no surprise that Ten Hag’s side played in their white shirt at the MCG.
In that sense, Crystal Palace were a practical opponent: one of the two clubs had to wear a change kit, but you suspect United would have worn their new colors anyway.
Bruno Fernandes, Rashford, Sancho, Shaw and Scott McTominay were the United stars seen in Federation Square for the Adidas event in front of hundreds of fans.
It came as no surprise that Ten Hag’s side played in their white adidas jersey at the MCG
Bryan Robson, Andy Cole and former kit man Albert Morgan were on hand to warm up the crowd for a little longer than they might have liked while we waited for the players to arrive.
These clever marketing guys at adidas had designed the stage to look like United’s dressing room turned upside down to celebrate their Tour Down Under and their first performance in Melbourne since 1999.
