Krishnan Sreekumar
Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick explains decision to drop three stars for Champions League tie vs Atletico Madrid
Speaking to the club’s official media channel MUTV (h/t Express), Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick explained the decision to drop a few major stars for the Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid, saying that he needed fresh legs and energy.
With the tie evenly poised at 1-1 prior to the second leg of the Round of 16 fixture, United could not take advantage of playing at home as Renan Lodi’s goal in the first half of the match ensured that the Old Trafford side crashed out of the Champions League.
Rangnick dropped Marcus Rashford, Nemanja Matic, and Paul Pogba for the game last night, saying that he decided the starting XI that could give him a high level of aggression. All three stars took to the field later on in the second half with the team chasing a goal.
“Well, to start with, it was also about fresh legs and also about, as I’ve said, playing with a high level of aggression and energy. And that is why I decided for this starting XI.”
Although the three players were brought on to salvage the situation and find a goal to take the game to extra time, the trio were unsuccessful in doing so. With this, Man United are guaranteed to finish the season without winning any silverware.
“Verticality and about speed”
Anthony Elanga came closest to finding the back of the net for his side, seeing his strike at the near post deflect off Jan Oblak’s face as the Atletico player somehow kept the shot out. Later on in the half, Lodi would pop up to score the eventual winner.
After coming on as a goalscoring substitute in the first leg of the tie, Rangnick confirmed that Elanga started last night’s game because of his ability to offer them verticality and speed, which worked against them in the previous fixture.
“Yes but this is not the only reason [that he’s starting]. It’s also about verticality and about speed. We saw in the first leg this could be a major issue for us today.”
Rangnick’s starting lineup seemed to have worked in the first half, as Man United dominated possession and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions. This was in stark contrast to the previous leg of the tie, when Atletico blew the Manchester side apart in the opening minutes of the game.
Lodi’s goal took away the good foundation that the home side had set, but it was shrouded in controversy as Elanga was seemingly fouled in the build-up to the only strike in the game. It clearly had drastic effects, as Man United were sent crashing out of the Champions League.
More Manchester United News
- Manchester United dealt huge transfer blow as Franck Kessie ‘signs’ for new club
- Manchester United fans react as Red Devils crash out of UEFA Champions League vs Atletico Madrid
- Manchester United icon Gary Pallister claims Cristiano Ronaldo must get used to being benched at the club
This result also means that Rangnick ends his debut season in Manchester without winning any trophies, with the UCL the club’s last hope of getting their hands on a title this season.. The Red Devils are now in their fifth year without a trophy.
By the end, Rangnick tried everything he could conjure and threw on attacking players onto the pitch in an attempt to get a single goal, but it would not work. His team selection cannot be faulted much, with the players having good chances to open the scoring in the first half itself.
