Ralf Rangnick took aim at Victor Lindelof and claimed that the Manchester United defender ignored explicit advice during their humbling by Liverpool.
United were thumped 4-0 by the Reds at Anfield, in what is likely the final blow in their hopes of securing a top-four finish this season. A Mohamed Salah brace and goals from Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz condemned the Red Devils to yet another humiliating loss at the hands of one of their biggest rivals.
United’s lack of fight and desire has been under the spotlight, with former players including Gary Neville, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes all taking pot-shots at the current vintage. And Rangnick hasn’t been shy about slamming his own players as well, as his disappointing stint as interim boss nears its conclusion.
The German tactician has usually reserved his post-match rants for the entire dressing room, previously accusing them of a lack of physicality and desire. But after the defeat on Merseyside he came close to singling out Lindelof for a pass he said had been ‘blacklisted’ in the build-up.
The moment he referred to happened shortly before the third goal, as United attempted to find a foothold in the game following the half-time break. But any hope of a comeback was extinguished when Lindelof’s pass towards Anthony Elanga was intercepted, sparking a counter-attack that ended in Mane scoring the third.
“Had we scored a goal that might have changed the game but we didn’t. We had our moments in and around the box but couldn’t finish any of those moments,” he explained to MUTV. “And the third goal again was just a pressing invitation to play a 10- or 12-yard short pass into Anthony Elanga – it doesn’t make sense!
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“Everybody knows that Anthony is a player for [playing] a ball in behind their backline but not into his feet. They were just waiting for that kind of ball, quite similar to the goal that we conceded at Everton, and six seconds later the ball was in our net.”
He then reiterated his frustrations in a subsequent interview, adding: “The way that we prepared, I have to say, the third goal was exactly the kind of ball that was on the blacklist of things that we shouldn’t do against Liverpool.
“A 12-yard pass into Anthony Elanga – who is not a player for that kind of ball – they are just waiting for those kind of balls Liverpool and then we conceded the third one. We played exactly the kind of ball before the third goal that we didn’t want to play, a 15-yard ball into their pressing zone, and with the fourth goal it was similar.”
The 63-year-old tactician who is set to take on a consultancy role at the end of the season, also highlighted what he deemed as a lack of preparedness in his players, after watching Paul Pogba limp off with a calf injury after less than ten minutes.
“Liverpool are playing in four competitions and have no injuries, this is also on how you train. What you do, what measures you take in order to recover and be fully fit. These are the questions that need to be asked.
“You can change it, other clubs change it. Why should their players be fitter than our players? This is not something that has to be automatically like that.”
