Ahead of the tricky encounter with Wolves, Rangnick emphasised the importance of keeping the unbeaten eight-game stretch going.
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Manchester United will play their first competitive game of the new calendar year when Ralf Rangnick’s side take to the pitch against Wolves in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Monday night. Ever since the German has joined the club as the interim boss, United have not lost a match, and he will be looking to prolong the promising unbeaten run. Following a difficult start to the season, United have managed to build up a solid run of form lately. It started with caretaker manager Michael Carrick’s three-game spell in charge, which has continued under the German. Ahead of the tricky encounter with Wolves, Rangnick emphasised the importance of keeping the unbeaten eight-game stretch going.
Asked whether Wolverhampton Wanderers are a different challenge for his team, Rangnick told the club media, “Yes, another complicated team to play. In most cases they play with a back three or a back five. Very compact on the counterattack, very difficult to outplay. And again, it’s about finding the right spots, the right spaces, making the right decisions, playing the ball into the dangerous areas without being vulnerable on the counterattack. This is, against Wolves, one of the most important things.”
“Yes, it’s about winning games. That’s the next home game we have, and another game where we will try to get the three points. Against Burnley, they also didn’t concede that many goals so far [this season] and we scored three of them. So why shouldn’t we be able to score goals against Wolves? As long as we keep a clean sheet, or only concede one goal… as long as we score three, everything is okay.”
It’s an unbeaten start for Rangnick so far at Manchester United, which has helped calm the nerves down following a slow start to the season. When asked how important is it to keep that momentum going, he replied, “Highly important. There is no replacement for winning games. It’s the most important part. This gives confidence to the players. They are unbeaten now for eight competitive games and we have to try and prolong this way of playing.”
Earlier, Manchester United defeated Burnley 3-1 in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Thursday to end 2021 on a high. Scott McTominay opened the scoring for the hosts before an own goal from Ben Mee doubled the lead and Cristiano Ronaldo made it 3-0 after the half-hour mark. Although Aaron Lennon pulled one back for Burnley before the break, it proved to be just a consolation goal as the hosts dominated in the second half. But heroics from Burnley goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey kept the scoreline at 3-1.
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