Ralf Rangnick says he is ‘pretty sure’ Manchester United’s top-four chances are over after the defeat at Arsenal while ruing Bruno Fernandes’s missed penalty.
Manchester United’s chances to finish in the top four look all but over after yet another defeat. The Red Devils have been struggling all through the campaign and followed up their loss against Liverpool with yet another heavy defeat on Saturday afternoon.
This time it was Arsenal who swept aside Manchester United at the Emirates with a 3-1 win. There were plenty of moments in the game when the Red Devils could have gotten back into the contest. The Gunners took the lead in the third minute through Nuno Tavares and doubled the advantage halfway through the opening period through a Bukayo Saka penalty.
Cristiano Ronaldo pulled a goal back before half-time, and Manchester United came out in the second half as the stronger side. They had a 20-minute period, where they put Arsenal under tremendous pressure.
Tavares then conceded a penalty, which gave Manchester United a great chance to equalise and become relevant in the game once more. To everyone’s surprise, it was Bruno Fernandes who stepped up to take the spot-kick instead of Ronaldo and missed it. The Portuguese playmaker failed to find the target as the ball grazed the upright on its way.
? "It's not very realistic to dream and speak about top 4."
Ralf Rangnick concedes that Manchester United's top 4 hopes are over after the defeat to Arsenal pic.twitter.com/FReGjOSlz6
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) April 23, 2022
Manchester United’s manager rued the miss, as he expressed disappointment at the lost opportunity. Speaking after the game, as quoted by Goal, Rangnick said, “It would have helped us a lot if that had been the equaliser and probably would have changed the whole game. In the end, very unlucky for us.”
Granit Xhaka then put the game beyond Manchester United’s reach with a trademark long-range effort. The defeat leaves the Red Devils six points behind the Gunners, with only four games to play, making it very difficult for them to catch up and finish in the top four.
On the club’s chances in the top-four race, Rangnick had plenty to talk about as he insisted he was ‘pretty sure’ they were out of the picture in the battle for the Champions League spots.
Rangnick said, “For me even before the game it was not very likely but after today’s result it is gone yes. There is a lot of work for sure. We knew that before the game. We showed what football we can play. Although we had to deal with the two early goals we still showed the attitude. There is nothing about the attitude of the players we should fault today.”
Manchester United’s form has been terrible all season. They will host Chelsea on Thursday night at Old Trafford, and another defeat could hurt their chances of finishing in the Europa League spots if West Ham United put together a strong run of results between now and the end of the season.
