Ralf Rangnick lamented his team’s dropped points against relegation-threatened Watford, suggesting Manchester United should have won comfortably.
Manchester United are developing an unhealthy pattern in recent weeks after they dropped more points on Saturday in their bid to finish in the top-four. With Spurs winning at Leeds earlier in the day and Arsenal just one point behind, the pressure was on the Red Devils to maintain their lead in the top-four race.
Despite the importance of the game and the chance to bounce back from recent results, Manchester United only managed a goalless draw at home to Watford. The Red Devils had plenty of opportunities to finish the game at different stages, yet their profligacy cost them yet again.
While they are still backed to finish in the top four, these two points dropped may come back to haunt them in the race for the Champions League qualification spots. While other rivals continue to win and gain momentum, United fans will have been disappointed with their recent performances, especially against Watford.
Moreover, they now have the daunting task of getting positive results in the next games against Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool in the league, with a tricky home fixture against Atletico Madrid squeezed between those games. If Manchester United drop further points in this run of games, they can forget about playing Champions League football next season, unless they win the competition this term.
Manager Ralf Rangnick cut a disappointed figure after the Watford game, suggesting the team has the quality to win such games. His comments appeared on the Manchester Evening News as he lamented the team’s poor finishing.
Rangnick said, “Well, it feels once again like two points dropped we should have easily won. We did everything apart from scoring; we had enough chances in both halves to win that game, but we didn’t, and, not for the first time, we dropped two points in a very important match.
“We had enough chances. In the first half, we had four clear opportunities that normally are enough to score at least one or two goals, and the second half was similar.
“In the end, it’s about efficiency, being clinical in front of goal, and this is not for the first time, unfortunately. Apart from that, we were in full control of the game; we dominated the game. They had one or two transitional moments in the last five minutes, and apart from that, we dominated the game completely. But the number of clear chances we had today have to be enough to win a game like this.”
Rangnick and Manchester United will come under more pressure after the result, with their task set to get harder with a tough set of fixtures coming up.
