Rangnick urged his team to maintain the top level for more than one half following the disappointing draw against Southampton.
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Manchester United’s interim manager Ralf Rangnick was understandably disappointed with his team letting go of another lead to settle for a 1-1 draw against Southampton at Old Trafford. The home side took the lead through Jadon Sancho’s 21st-minute goal and were in front at the halfway point. However, Che Adams’ equaliser at the start of the second half was enough for the visitors to get a point out of the match. The home side had the ball in the net a couple of times, through Paul Pogba and Cristiano Ronaldo, but the efforts were quickly ruled out. A late header from Harry Maguire forced Fraser Forster to make a diving save. It was the closest United came to a winner on Saturday in the Premier League clash.
“Unfortunately, again, it was very similar to the last couple of games. Very good first half, very good first half-hour. We did all the things we intended to do with the counter-attacks, with the deep runs. [It was] exactly that way we created the goal and prepared the goal. It was a great goal, in all aspects of the goal. But then we stopped doing that. Even at the end of the first half, we didn’t do those things anymore,” Rangnick told MUTV and BT Sport.
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“And then in the second half, we also lost a bit of shape in the first 20 minutes. We were struggling to defend against them and exactly that happened in transition when they scored their goal. In the last 20 minutes, we had enough opportunities, big chances to score again. The expected-goals ratio was in our favour clearly but, in the end, we didn’t get the result we wanted to.”
Speaking about exploiting the gaps, Rangnick said, “Yes. As I said, we did exactly what we intended and what we told the team to do. Not play into their pressing zones but play behind them, making use of the space behind their back four and this is exactly what we did when we scored the goal.”
Rangnick urged his team to maintain the top level for more than one half. At the same time, he also praised Southampton for the way they played on Saturday. “Well, on the one hand, we also have to respect the other team. Southampton played well, they played with the same intensity and tactical approach that they did against Tottenham, so this is not an easy team to play against,” he added.
“But yes, again, we lost a little bit of composure, we made some wrong decisions, sometimes under pressure, sometimes not under pressure. This is where we have to get better, whenever we prepare the team for the next possible game. As I said in the last four or five games, we started extremely well, we had an excellent half-hour again today but, in the end, it’s about playing that way for more than just one half.”
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