Ralf Rangnick names crucial Man Utd error which led to them being ‘punished’ by Brighton

Ralf Rangnick has explained how a pivotal mistake from Manchester United allowed Brighton to ‘punish’ them in a 4-0 home win for the Seagulls.

Moises Caicedo, a Manchester United fan, gave Brighton the lead in the 15th minute with a low drive from 25 yards out. Graham Potter’s side dominated for pretty much the rest of the first half but couldn’t add to their lead.

Whatever Rangnick said to his players at half time, it didn’t work as Marc Cucurella smashed past David de Gea to make it 2-0 soon after the restart.

He was joined by Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard on the scoresheet as Manchester United capitulated and Brighton ran riot.

The result means United will pick up their lowest points tally since the Premier League was rebranded from the First Division.

The Red Devils are also at risk of being caught by seventh-placed West Ham, who are six points behind but have two games in hand.

During a post-match interview with Sky Sports (via BBC Sport), Rangnick said United gave Brighton ‘too much space’ – which resulted in the Manchester outfit being ‘punished’.

“It was a terrible performance,” Rangnick admitted. “From the first until the last minute it was not enough. We can only apologise for this performance and a humiliating defeat.

“[Brentford] was a different game, we just gave too much time and space. We were never in a position where we could stop them playing through our lines.

“We told the players be as compact as they could but we couldn’t stop it.

“I don’t think they ignored the gameplan but we weren’t able to stop them. We gave them too much space and if you do that against a technically good team like Brighton, you will get punished.”

Bruno Fernandes admits Man Utd were ‘outplayed’

During a post-match interview with Sky Sports, Bruno Fernandes said: “The result is what it is. It is not good enough.

“They outplayed us. They always had a solution. Pressed us better and they deserved the result.

“A little bit of everything [went wrong]. Quality. Mentality. They deserved to win and we deserve to be in the position we are in now.

“It’s something that we have to look and be embarrassed because that was not good enough from us and we have to do much better.

“I don’t want to talk about the future, we still have one game this season and we have to win.

“I talked with the club about the future many times before I signed my contract because I think the future can be good, but obviously many things need to be fixed, as we have seen this season.”

During the match, United fans were heard chanting ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’. When asked about this, Fernandes added: “I include myself in that. What we did today, what I did today, was not enough to be in a Man Utd shirt and I accept it.”

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