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Manchester United vs Crystal Palace at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on 19 Jul 2022. Jadon Sancho in action, 19 July 2022

Watch: Jadon Sancho’s superb volley finishes beautiful Man Utd team goal

Manchester United‘s eye-catching pre-season form appears to be continuing, with Jadon Sancho the latest player to score for the club.

It’s early days in the reign of new boss Erik ten Hag, but United already look unrecognisable to the disjointed outfit that struggled their way to their lowest-ever Premier League points tally last term.

Ten Hag has a great reputation as a coach, having achieved great success with Ajax, and it already looks like he’s influencing the way United are playing.

United have won all three of their friendlies so far under the Dutch coach, having beaten Liverpool 4-0, Melbourne Victory 4-1 and Crystal Palace 3-1. They look set to make it four on the bounce, with a commanding two-goal lead over Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa at the Optus Stadium in Perth.

Sancho put the finishing touch to a flowing United move to open the scoring in the 25th minute, with Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw all involved in the quick and incisive build-up.

The 22-year-old forward was criticised last season for an underwhelming debut campaign, notching just three goals and three assists in the Premier League after his £72million move from Borussia Dortmund last summer.

But Sancho finished this move emphatically with a superb volley and it looks as though Ten Hag might just be the man to get the England international back to the scintillating form he showed at Dortmund.

“This pre-season, we have the same players but it just looks like a whole different team and I do think that’s something we’re working on and I feel like we’re getting better,” Sancho told United‘s website. “The manager is big on team-bonding and having fun together and doing things like team dinners and things like that. So, yeah, it’s helping.

“The training, especially in pre-season, has been a real positive and all the lads have taken on board what he’s saying; you can see it in the games, we’re creating a lot more chances, keeping the ball more and just making good things out of the style we’re playing.”

A Matty Cash own goal gave United a 2-0 lead a half-time in Perth, and they’re well worth their lead. They dominated possession (67%), completing twice as many passes as Gerrard’s side, and reduced the opposition to a solitary off-target effort.


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