Manchester United continued their excellent start to life under Erik ten Hag with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace, which spun their attack Down Under.
Anthony Martial looks like a reborn striker as he scored his third goal in three pre-season games, while Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were also rewarded for entrepreneurial performance by getting on the scoresheet.
Stripped of a number of first-team regulars, Palace had little threat as United dominated, but Joel Ward headed home a consolation.
Here Sportsmail’s CHRIS WHEELER looks at five things we learned from another pre-season win for United under Ten Hag.
Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 3-1 in a preseason friendly
Maguire is rudely shaken awake in Melbourne
If Harry Maguire hoped to put a difficult season behind him and start over under Erik ten Hag, the Manchester United captain was shaken awake at the MCG.
Maguire was booed every time he touched the ball in the first half, which is a concern for the player and his club as most of the fans here supported 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 to the game.
Harry Maguire was booed every time he touched the ball at the start of Tuesday’s friendly
It was a largely partisan Manchester United crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
He (left) was booed as he led the team out after retaining the Manchester United captaincy
But the fact that Maguire is being attacked before the season has even started doesn’t bode well. United’s £80million defender struggled for form last season and was dropped before the end of the season. He was booed during his service in England against the Ivory Coast in March and his family was the victim of a bomb threat at their home in Cheshire the following month.
Ten Hag gave Maguire a vote of confidence by letting him keep the captain’s armband, but warned that this will not guarantee him a starting spot, and the decision to spend £55.3m on Lisandro Martinez will challenge the competition for places in the central defense just magnify.
Maguire came close to scoring just before half-time and the cheers subsided in the second period, so he can only hope this was an isolated incident.
Martial’s turnaround under Ten Hag continues
Anthony Martial was one of the success stories of this tour, sparking hopes that the Frenchman could relaunch his United career.
When Martial replaced Cristiano Ronaldo up front in the opening game against Liverpool in Bangkok, it felt like an emergency jump that would have little impact on the 26-year-old’s expected departure this summer.
Martial has frustrated a succession of United managers and when he left for a disappointing loan spell at Sevilla in January, it felt like the end of his career at Old Trafford.
But he has scored in all three games on tour, equaling his tally for all of last season when he scored a lone United goal against Everton, one for France against Ukraine and another for Sevilla against Dynamo Zagreb in October.
Anthony Martial opened the scoring with his third goal in as many games during pre-season
Martial seems more involved under Erik ten Hag and it will almost feel like a new addition
Martial struck here in the 17th minute when he took a cross from Diogo Dalot to the chest and drove in from close range. He was also involved in United’s second and third goals after halftime, taking down Victor Lindelof’s long pass with a superb touch before snatching the ball from goalkeeper Remi Matthews when Marcus Rashford scored. He then slid a smart pass for Jadon Sancho to beat Matthews.
Martial seems more involved under Erik ten Hag and it will almost feel like a new signing for United if the Dutchman can continue to get a tune out of the erratic striker. As Ronaldo is unlikely to be fit for the start of the season – assuming he stays with United and returns to training at some point – Martial has thrown himself firmly into the lead.
Promising signs in preparation for United
You have to remind yourself that it is pre-season and there is only so much that can be read into these results, but the fact remains that Ten Hag now has three consecutive wins to his name with a total score of 11-2.
Liverpool were undercooked in Bangkok, Melbourne Victory is an average A League side and Crystal Palace arrived in Australia with just 10 first-team players. Still, this was an encouraging tour for United, not only in terms of results but also in performance under their new manager.
There was an interesting change of approach by Ten Hag in this match as he chose to keep his first team on the pitch until the 65th minute before making wholesale substitutions.
Erik ten Hag now has three consecutive wins to his name with a total score of 11-2
The Dutchman changed all 10 field players in both first two games during halftime, but only brought in Donny van de Beek here during halftime.
United led three goals when the changes were made and then Palace jumped into action. David de Gea, the only player to stay, will be disappointed not to be able to hold off Joel Ward’s header from a corner after making his best save of the game moments earlier.
Things got worse for United when teenage substitute Will Fish – who was flown here as a replacement for Axel Tuanzebe – was less than 20 minutes into the game before being sent off for a foul.
Malacia already feels at home at United
Tyrell Malacia has wasted no time making his mark at United after joining the club from Feyenoord on a £14.6m deal.
Malacia looked sharp in training in Bangkok last week and as a second half substitute in the first two games against Liverpool and Melbourne Victory.
Promoted to Ten Hag’s top eleven to make his first start for the club against Crystal Palace in the MCG, the Dutch full-back took less than 17 minutes to play a part in United’s opening goal.
New signing Tyrell Malacia has wasted no time making his mark at United
The Dutch full-back took less than 17 minutes to play a part in United’s opening goal
Malacia moved to the left and passed the ball into Dalot whose pass picked Martial to score.
Dalot also looked very lively on tour, establishing himself firmly as first-choice right-back for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Malacia is expected to be the main league for Luke Shaw as a left-back with Alex Telles and Brandon Williams further down the pecking order, if they are still with the club when the transfer window closes on September 1.
All white in the night
United’s marketing department doesn’t miss a trick. Three days after the unveiling of the club’s new away kit in Melbourne, it was no surprise to see Ten Hag’s side play in their white strip at the MCG.
In that sense, Crystal Palace were handy opponents: one of the two clubs had to wear a transition 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 was no surprise to see Ten Hag’s squad play in their white adidas strip at the MCG
Bryan Robson, Andy Cole and former kitman Albert Morgan were on hand to warm up the crowd a little longer than they might have liked as we waited for the players to arrive.
Those clever marketing types at adidas had designed the stage to look like United’s dressing room upside down to mark their tour Down Under and their first performance in Melbourne since 1999.