‘Almost impossible’ – Ralf Rangnick pinpoints moment derby ran away from Man Utd as big ‘gap’ exposed

Ralf Rangnick could not hide from the gulf between Manchester United and their conquerors Man City despite defending their approach until a game-changing moment.

Man Utd suffered a comprehensive defeat to their rivals on Sunday afternoon. City went ahead via Kevin De Bruyne and although Jadon Sancho would for a time restore parity, the hosts pulled away to win 4-1. De Bruyne scored again before Riyad Mahrez also added a brace.

The result leaves United a point outside the top four but having played three games more than the closest team they can catch.

United have long been out of the title race, but the fact they are 22 points behind their rivals thanks to such a significant loss speaks volumes of where they currently are.

In fairness, they did compete in the first half, but City took the sting out of the game and gained complete control. United did not have a shot in the second half.

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For United’s interim manager Rangnick, the moment the game went away from his side was the third City goal, scored by Mahrez. In the bigger picture, he has seen how far his side are off the champions.

Rangnick told Sky Sports (via the BBC): “I think we played a good, if not decent first half. We were competitive.

“Difficult to concede an early goal. We shouldn’t allow the cross to come in. We came back, scored a brilliant goal ourselves then conceded another on the counter.

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“It was a very difficult game against the best team in the world in possession of the ball. We conceded a fourth in the last minute of the game. It is a difficult game that shows we still have some steps to go to close that gap.

“It was working. For us it was clear if we want a chance to get something out of this game we have to do a lot of running. You have to be in attacking and hunting mode and we did that in the first half. The players tried everything. When we conceded the third goal that killed us off in the end.

“It’s difficult. If we attack them very high there is a lot of negative running that you need to do. We decided to attack them more in the mid-block and we did that until the third goal. The third goal is a brilliantly taken corner and it is almost impossible to defend that.

“The second half they were the better team and they showed what kind of quality they have. We struggled especially after they scored the third one.”

Rangnick ready for essential run

Rangnick was insistent Man Utd were not too far off before the break. But hailing City as one of the world’s strongest teams, he had to accept the game showed there is a gap between the two clubs.

He replied: “In the second half it did but in the first half it was a competitive game. We could have also scored one or two more goals.

“Everyone knows how good they are. They are one of the top teams in the world and there is a gap between the two clubs right now and in the second half it became more obvious.

“We are fully aware that we need to win games. This was one of the most difficult ones that we had to play. Now it is about accepting, although it is difficult, they were the better team today.

“But we look ahead to the next games and we need to win the next two home games. They are essential to us. We will do everything to win those two games at home.”

United had to navigate the match without experienced strikers Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani. In their absence, Rangnick moved midfielders Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes further forward.

Getting Ronaldo and Cavani back would be a boost, but Rangnick cannot comment on when they will return.

He said: “I don’t know. I was hoping to have them available for this game but they weren’t. We have to wait and see.

“We have two important games coming up against Spurs and Atletico and we have to put our full focus on that.”

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