Manchester United Ralf Rangnick blasted his side’s weakness that he claims no other team in the Premier League has despite Saturday’s victory at home to Norwich.
Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick dragged United to a victory that may prove priceless for their top-four hopes after a hugely unconvincing team performance in the midst of a poisonous atmosphere among the club’s fanbase. There was a huge protest staged by fans ahead of kick-off against the club’s Glazer ownership and the supporters turned their ire on underperforming players during the game with Paul Pogba appearing to react to fans booing him.
Yet Rangnick was not impressed after the match and despite Ronaldo bagging a hat-trick and his side securing just their second victory in any competition since February, the German was far from happy with his side’s level of performance. Despite moving above Arsenal in the standings and being within just three points of the top four, he could not hide his disappointment at the performance.
Speaking after the game, Rangnick said: "They (the goals conceded) were too easy, we are the only team in the league who concedes goals like this." Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki netted either side of the break to see United’s early two-goal advantage blown apart by the Canaries, who remain at the foot of the standings.
The United interim boss added: "After we scored our second goal we should have made life easier for ourselves but we didn't. We lost our structure and weren't aggressive enough. It's about being clever and smart. All of a sudden it was 2-2 and David de Gea kept us in the game. But we definitely have to raise our play."
Speaking of Ronaldo’s hat-trick, Rangnick once again referred back to the goals his side conceded: "We should not only rely on him. We played well at times but we sometimes slowed the game down and didn't make use of overlap situations on the wing. Defensively I was not happy at all. The results elsewhere were good. But it doesn't make sense to look to other results. We need to raise our game."
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Rangnick added that he was concerned by the overall team performance, and identified what was missing from United’s general play: "It was highly important we won the goal but the way we played was not good enough. It is a question of intensity and physicality. Like against Tottenham, Ronaldo was very crucial. They weren't easy goals, it was just outstanding. It doesn't make sense to be interested in the other results, we have to take care of our own results."
Despite the underwhelming performance, the victory has lifted United up to fifth place in the standings and to within just three points of the final top-four spot. While that remains an outside prospect, Rangnick’s team remain in the hunt for the position.
