The 18-year-old midfielder was a commanding presence in midfield during a tight first-half at the Palace Academy before filling in at right-back after the interval, as the match finished 0-0.
Yet with Palace’s Ademola Ola-Adebomi hitting the post and Jack Wells-Morrison also coming close in the second period, Rodney was pleased to see his side prove more than a match for a visiting side who had won their last six games prior.
Speaking to Palace TV, Rodney said: “It was a tough game. I thought the boys did well to firstly keep a clean sheet after previous results.
“We had a couple of chances to go and score and were unfortunate, but the main thing is we kept a clean sheet and can move forward positively.
“Manchester United are always a good team to play against, no matter. Any of the top six teams are good to play against, but when you don’t concede a goal and have chances to score at the other end, it’s always a positive.
“Obviously now with the facility and everything [at Palace]… the players’ mentality in training [is that] we have ambitions to go and win the league and do things like this.
“When we play a team like Manchester United, of course we want to go and win – that’s our mentality at this time.”