Ralf Rangnick.

Rangnick reacts to win over Clarets

Thursday 30 December 2021 23:46

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick was pleased with his side's performance in the 3-1 victory over Burnley.

The boss spoke to MUTV, Amazon Prime Video and at his post-match press conference and was quizzed on a number of subjects relating to the game at Old Trafford.

Scott McTominay, an own-goal by Ben Mee and a third by Cristiano Ronaldo put the Reds 3-0 up, before Aaron Lennon quickly pulled one back. The second half was goalless as the Reds secured a comfortable three points.

'We met the demands of energy and physicality' Video

'We met the demands of energy and physicality'

In our interview, Ralf explains why he was pleased by a much-improved performance against Burnley...

AN IMPROVED DISPLAY

“Yes, I think so. It was, as expected, a really tough and difficult game against a team who play physically and very direct in parts. We knew that in advance so it was important we met the physical and technical demands. When the ball was in their half, we did well and also showed the qualities we have in our transition. [It was] Important to score. In our half, there are things to improve on and we will work on that. It was important today to raise the energy level. Physically and energetically, it was a good performance.”

BURNLEY'S FIGHT WAS EXPECTED

"They were trying to put us under pressure early but we expected them do that. They also did it against teams like Manchester City and Chelsea, so it didn't come unexpectedly to us. We had a few problems in the first 15 minutes, to find the right solutions and take the right decisions, but with the first goal we scored, we got a lot better. We showed how dangerous we can be, how flexible we can play with two wingers and two-full backs, on and off coming into the attack, and the two strikers."

UNDISPUTED QUALITY

"Even before I came, there was no doubt about the qualities the team has offensively, we just need to make sure that we concede as few goals as possible. I'm a little bit angry about the goal we conceded and that again was an unforced error. No, it was a forced error not an unforced error, that put us under pressure. In that case, Eric [Bailly], it was one of very few mistakes he made today. He should have kicked the ball and played it forward rather than do a short pass. It was a very similar goal to the one we conceded against Young Boys in the Champions League and we just have to learn from that. It doesn't mean if you're a technical team, it doesn't mean, in certain circumstances, we just have to play the long ball."

GREAT SCOTT

“We only decided this afternoon at two o’clock that he would play because he still had some problems with his ankle that he suffered at Newcastle. So it was good to have him available and in the team. At half-time, our team doctor said he would be struggling in the second half after the level of pain but it was important to have him in the team and he was able to play for 93 minutes. A very important player for us today."

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WHO ELSE IMPRESSED?

“Well I think it doesn’t make sense to speak about individual players. The whole team performance was a lot better and, as I said, it was important to meet the physical demands today. I was also pleased with the performance of our wingers. Jadon [Sancho] did well, especially after he scored [it went down as own-goal by Ben Mee], it lifted his confidence level and the same with Mason [Greenwood]. And Edi [Cavani], the work level was amazing. Together, with Cristiano [Ronaldo], they did a good job against the ball and as I said, all in all, it was a good performance.”

THE JANUARY WINDOW

“My focus is on the current players. As I said, we have enough players in the squad and there is no lack [in terms] of the number of players. Transfers in the winter window only make sense if they really help you and increase the quality. So far, we haven’t spoken about that. My focus in the last couple of weeks was on the current squad.”

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