Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Rangnick names one thing he ‘wished’ Man Utd would change despite ‘deserved’ win over West Ham

Man Utd manager Ralf Rangnick

Ralf Rangnick was aware of the patience Manchester United would require against West Ham, but wanted them to change one thing about their approach.

Rangnick earned back-to-back wins with Man Utd for the first time after following up the midweek victory over Brentford with a last-gasp beating of West Ham. Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the game in the third minute of stoppage time.

The result has lifted United above the Hammers and into the top four in the Premier League table.

It was not easy for them to get there, though. Of their 18 shots in the match, only three were on target. But the one that counted was Rashford’s late winner, prompting an enthusiastic response from Rangnick.

Even so, the interim manager thought they could have been more selective with their shooting in the final stages before Rashford won it.

Within the overriding positive emotions, he told Sky Sports (via the BBC): “If you score in the last second of the game, that is the best type of wins. A clean sheet. I think in the end we deserved to win.

“It takes patience to play West Ham. A few moments at the end I wished we would have passed the ball instead of shooting from wherever.

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Rangnick was also happy with the physical efforts of his players, especially with how they played in defence.

He continued: “Bearing in mind we played a few days ago against Brentford, the team looked physically good.

“We knew it would take patience, the way we played defensively, won balls back, I was really happy with that.

“I am very pleased the three subs prepared the goal and scored the goal. All were involved. That makes it even more important.

“I would love to have those two points from Villa Park [after a 2-2 draw on January 15th], but with 17 points now we are pleased.”

Rashford reflects Rangnick analysis

Marcus Rashford reacts after helping Man Utd win

Goalscorer Rashford also spoke to the media in the aftermath of the match.

The attacker agreed with his coach that United could have looked after the ball better. However, he wants them to take inspiration from the way they won it late on as he looks ahead to their fixtures after a brief break.

He told Match of the Day: “It is obviously an important goal and such late on is an amazing feeling. We have to use that winning feeling.

“We could have been a bit better on the ball but managed to get the goal we needed and can use that as motivation now.

“When there are two teams so close together in the table, both are fighting to be in front of one another and today we managed to get there. We are sitting fourth now, some teams have games to play, but it is nice to be in that position.

“The wins are what’s important. When you get wins, consecutive wins, you can really start to go on a run and that is what gives everyone confidence.

“We have had a difficult week. There have been many games in one week, so the break is needed. It’ll be good for us.”

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