Ralf Rangnick insisted any tactical aspect of Manchester United's first-half performance against Atletico Madrid was irrelevant as they were so poor.
Rangnick said after United's 1-1 draw he could still 'not believe' United played without conviction and aggression against the Spanish champions, who led through Joao Felix's seventh-minute header.
United's midfield imbalance was exposed by Atletico while the decision to start centre-back Victor Lindelof at right-back was not vindicated and the Swede was substituted midway through the second-half.
"Well, I told them this that this is just not enough," Rangnick recalled of his half-time team talk. "We need to show more energy, we don't need to speak about game plans or any tactical moves or tricks, it's all about conviction and being present on the pitch and believing what you're doing, if the other team has got the ball or we are in possession ourselves. This is just not enough, it's Champions League.
"The team fought all of last season to qualify for the Champions League and in the knockout you have to show and commit yourself to the demands. We did it after 60 minutes, with every substitution that came on our game was raised, our level of performance, and in the last 15 or 20 minutes we played exactly how I expected us to play from the start."
Bruno Fernandes salvaged an otherwise error-strewn performance by creating Anthony Elanga's equaliser, continuing his streak of claiming an assist in every Champions League game he has played in this season.
Fernandes has become renowned for ceding possession as part of his risk-taking approach but Rangnick was taken aback by how sloppy the Portuguese was with the ball.
"We know what a fantastic player Bruno normally is in possession of the ball," Rangnick said. "The way we played in the first-half, even for him it was difficult, he also had quite a few unforced errors, giveaways in the first-half that he normally doesn't have.
"In the end, it's a question of control and in moments of success in a game. We had only few moments of success in the first-half and that's why it was a very one-sided game in the first 45 minutes."
