Ralf Rangnick conceded Manchester United were beaten by the superior side in their 1-0 defeat to Wolves. For Rangnick, it was a first defeat of his Old Trafford reign and a major setback as he looks to keep the Red Devils in top four contention. But the performance, which saw them outplayed for large parts of the game, will have been the biggest concern to the German, who admitted Wolves’ approach forced him to switch formation during the game.
Ralf Ragnick said: “They are playing with four, almost five central midfielders and we had problems to control that part of the pitch. Whenever they tried to release via their wing-backs, we were also struggling. That’s why we decided to change our formation [to three at the back] and that’s why we had more control in the second half. They didn’t have as many chances in the second half as they had in the first. But we missed our chances to score and we have to admit they deserved to win.”
Meanwhile, defender Luke Shaw issued a brutal verdict on United’s display.
Luke Shaw admitted: “Obviously not good enough. We really struggled first half, couldn’t get control of the ball, we didn’t have many options. But also on the other side when we didn’t have the ball, I don’t think we were aggressive enough, we weren’t on the front foot, we didn’t really put them under any pressure. Probably they felt like they were in full control, so it maybe looked like an easy game for them first half. [It was] a very disappointing performance, I think, but also a disappointing result.”
Asked if the lack of intensity could be a result of the players adjusting to their new manager,
Luke Shaw added: “I’m not sure. I don’t think you can put it on that. As players, we’ve been here for a long time. We’ve played at home, we know what it’s like when we have the intensity, you can feel the motivation is there. But I think maybe tonight we struggled. I didn’t feel when I was on the pitch that we were all there together. We felt like we were struggling and it was tough.”
