MANCHESTER United started the Ralf Rangnick era with a 1-0 win against Crystal Palace on Sunday as Tottenham crushed Norwich 3-0 to extend its recent revival under Antonio Conte. Leeds struck late to draw 2-2 with Brentford as new Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard prepared to lock horns with his former boss at Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers, in the late game against Leicester. Rangnick, taking the reins for the first time, named an unchanged side at Old Trafford after United beat Arsenal 3-2 in midweek and was rewarded with a high-energy performance in the first half, backed by a vocal crowd. Cristiano Ronaldo had the hosts’ best chances as Palace initially struggled to get a foothold but the game remained goalless at half-time. United’s performance levels dipped in the second period and Rangnick threw on Mason Greenwood and Anthony Elanga for Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford to inject fresh energy into his attack. But it was often-maligned Brazil midfielder Fred who broke the deadlock, curling home a superb strike past Palace goalkeeper Vicente Guaita from outside the box after a pass from Greenwood. The three points lifts United to sixth place in the table, three points behind fourth-placed West Ham. Spurs are one point ahead of United with a game in hand after cruising to a 3-0 win against bottom side Norwich — their third straight victory in the Premier League. Lucas Moura opened the scoring in the 10th minute. After a nice piece of skill to round a Norwich defender, he played a one-two with Son Heung-min, turned his marker and thundered an unstoppable drive into the top corner from 20 meters. Tottenham doubled their lead midway through the second half when Davinson Sanchez smashed home a loose ball from a corner. Son made it 3-0 in the 77th minute with a fine goal as Ben Davies and Oliver Skipp combined before the South Korean fired into the bottom corner. Conte took over from the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo early last month, with Spurs languishing in mid-table after a poor run of results and is starting to make an impact. (SD-Agencies) | 