Manchester United manager, Ralf Rangnick has said he was ‘not happy’ with Manchester United’s performance against Newcastle at St James’ Park on Monday evening.
The Red Devils drew 1-1 with Eddie Howe’s side after initially going a goal down in the 7th minute of the game following Allan Saint-Maximin’s strike.
Rangnick has criticized his team’s lack of ‘physicality’ on the pitch and called out his starting XI for showing little ‘energy’ when pressing to win the ball back.
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Speaking after the game, Rangnick told Sky Sports: ‘I didn’t like the performance at all. Today we didn’t control the game apart from a few moments. It’s all about energy, physicality and who wins the second balls.
‘In all those areas we weren’t at our best. The good thing is we got a point but the performance needs to be better.
‘You have to be ready and able to win those direct duels and this was not that often the case. When we were in possession we had too many giveaways and even with the goal, that doesn’t make things easy.
‘Today was not a question of body language, it was a question of body physicality. If you want to be competitive here you have to get physical and this was not the case in many parts of the game.
‘Our biggest problem was the mistakes we made. Even when we scored the equaliser we were not really controlling the game and taking the right decisions.
‘We were one goal behind and we needed to take more risks. In some situations, including the goal, we were good and with Edinson we had another striker who was dangerous.
‘Today it was not a question of formation – it was a question of how aggressive we were.
‘In three days we have the next game. We can do better but we have to do it. We shouldn’t look for excuses – we need to be better and get more physical.
‘I was not happy with our performance with the ball or when we had to press. What kind of energy mode do we play with the ball and without the ball?’.
Nevertheless, Edison Cavani managed to salvage a draw for Manchester United – who return to action against Burnley on Thursday.
The striker came off the bench to score a 78th minute equaliser and see the game end 1-1.
However, Rangnick will need to achieve better results if he has any hope of guiding Manchester United to a top four finish this season. (AF)
