Manchester City vs Manchester United: Games are not decided on paper, they are decided on the pitch, says Ralf Rangnick

Manchester United are in for a tough fight against their neighbours Manchester City in the Premier League. This will be interim manager Ralf Rangnick’s most difficult challenge after taking charge of the club at the end of last year. Since Rangnick took charge, the Reds have lost just once in the Premier League. However, Rangnick believes that the highly-anticipated Manchester derby is a chance for his side to confirm the progress which has been made over the last few months. Manchester United might not have always got the desired results, but their performances in recent weeks have been praised by many. The derby on Sunday will be a massive challenge for the Reds in their quest to finish in the top four.

“For us, it’s confirming the development of the team in the last three months,” he said ahead of the match in a press conference. “We’ve been unbeaten for the last 11 games [in normal time], we haven’t lost a single away game since I arrived, but we know this will be the biggest challenge so far. We haven’t played against a team of that kind of quality. It’s about confirming [our] development on Sunday against one of the best teams in the world.”

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On paper they seem to be favourites: Ralf Rangnick

Despite City will be heading into this match as the clear favourites, Rangnick is confident that his team can still get something from the mouth-watering tie. “On paper they seem to be favourites,” he said. “But games are not decided on paper. They are decided on the pitch. I’m convinced we can win the game, that we can create moments where we create chances ourselves, but it’s highly important that we don’t let them dominate the game as they did in November (when City won 2-0).”

Rangnick went on to provide examples about a few times in the recent past where teams have managed to find a way to counter Man City’s threats. Hence, he elaborated on what United have to do to be successful as well. 

“We have to be as compact as we can be,” he said. “We have to play as much as a team as we can. It will be challenging for us; we will have moments in the game where we have to chase the ball, but this shouldn’t happen all the time.

“All the teams that managed to do that, like Arsenal, like Southampton, also at times like Tottenham, had their moments [against City],” Rangnick added. “It is about being on the front foot, being courageous and creating moments where we can put them under pressure. This is what the game will be all about.”