Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick believes that the first half game against Burnley was United best play offensively in his reign.
Rangnick side defeated Burnley 3-1 in the Premier League as first half goals from Scott McTominay, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo gave the Red Devils three points.
United remain unbeaten under Ralf Rangnick and the German made six changes to the team after a disappointing draw against Newcastle United.
“Was the first half the best since came to club? I would say offensively yes. Whenever we had the ball in their half we did the things we intended to do, finding the right spots and spaces, taking on players in one on one situations,” he said.
“After the first goal, we scored we had control but then we gave away one goal. Whenever the ball was in our half there is still space for improvement but offensively that was so far the best performance.
“It was about fresh legs, fresh energy, fresh bodies, more physicality against this team. We knew how difficult they would be, how persistent they would play and it was a little bit of a war of attrition, a little bit of a difficult one to play. Therefore, it was important to me to have six fresh players on the pitch compared to the game at Newcastle.
“In the end, it paid off. It was the right players in the right positions. For me, it was important to have every player in his best possible position. That’s why we decided to play Jadon [Sancho] from the left and Mason [Greenwood] from the right and the two strikers up front and we decided to play the two sixes as they did.
“We had Nemanja [Matic] in the team as a sort of quarter-back player who can also calm the game down and play the passes from that position. Scotty [McTominay], again, his energy on the pitch is contagious in a positive way. That was an extremely good performance by Scotty today.”
Rangnick also stated that he and his coaching staff had only taken the decision to select man of the match and goal scorer McTominay on Thursday afternoon because of an injury the Scot was carrying from Monday night.
“We only decided at 2pm this afternoon that he would play as he still had some problems with his ankle that he suffered at Newcastle,” said Rangnick. “It was good to have him available in the team.
“At half-time, our team doctor told me he’d be struggling in the second half with the level of pain so it was important to have him in the team and in the end he could play the whole 92, 93 minutes.
“He was a very important player for us today. We played in a 4-4-2 defensively and a 4-2-4 offensively and therefore it was important to have him and Nemanja as the two sixes playing next to each other.”
source: Skysports
