Ralf Rangnick On Tuesday, Liverpool beat their main rivals 4-0 to take the lead in the Premier League. United, having missed out on a chance to climb up to fourth place Tottenham in the race for a Champions League spot, slipped to sixth.
“It’s embarrassing, disappointing, maybe even humiliating,” Rangnick said. “Especially in the first half, we weren’t up to par,” Rangnick told Sky Sports. “We could have ended up with six or seven points if we didn’t try to win the second balls first, let alone the first balls…we were second in every critical area in the first half, and that’s just not good enough.
“They [Liverpool] have just shown what calibre they are. We are not up to it. We’re not good enough to score against Liverpool.” When asked how United can close the gap on Liverpool, he added: “We have to admit they are six years ahead of us now.
“When Jurgen Klopp came in, they changed at the club and took not only the team but the club and the city to a new level. This is what should happen to us in the coming transfer windows. There will definitely be a restructuring, evident in the first three or four weeks.
It is highly embarrassing for us to sit here and hold such a press conference as a coaching staff. We just have to accept that they are better than us.”
Rack added: “It’s not difficult if you analyze the situation… I know very well that there will be six, seven, eight, maybe even 10 new players. Before you sign these players, you need to know your Hope and how they play.”
Mohamed Salah scored two goals to end an eight-match drought for club and country as the hosts beat United again after a 5-0 win at Old Trafford in October. United are three points behind Tottenham with one more game to play. Although the Gunners have played two games less, they are level with the next rival, Arsenal, in fifth place.
We must raise our level higher. “Liverpool is ready for the title; we are not. I don’t have to be here to tell the difference.” We must look at ourselves from top to bottom and understand what is wrong. We compete to the end.
We have something to fight for. During the game, fans of both clubs used a minute of applause to support Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo and his family as his little boy passed away.
‘Liverpool on the brink of true greatness’
The decisive victory puts Jurgen Klopp’s side two points ahead of defending champions Manchester City, who could take pole position when they face Brighton on Wednesday. As the season draws to a close, the Reds, who have already won the League Cup, continue searching for an unprecedented quarterback for an English club. This latest performance makes them the first club to score at least eight Premier League goals against Manchester United in a single season.
“I’m not here to humiliate opponents – we did what we had to do,” Klopp said. United are having a hard time, but it was a great moment for our fans, and they deserve every bit of joy. They got a lot of pleasure tonight. I don’t expect us to be in full control for 95 minutes, but “We were in charge for 70 minutes and 20 minutes while United was in charge, they gave us problems.”
Former Liverpool midfielder Graeme Souness told Sky Sports: “This is an incredible Liverpool team; they are on the verge of real greatness. This is the most important game in English football. The game, Liverpool did a great job.” Manchester United are close to confirming the appointment of Ajax manager Eric Ten Hager as the club’s next permanent manager.
‘Man Utd are broken and at an all-time low.’
Meanwhile, Rangnick, who replaced Solskjaer, who was temporarily sacked in November, now faces the challenging task of securing the Dutchman’s Champions League qualification with five games remaining. “It was a thought-provoking night,” former Manchester United defender Gary Neville told Sky Sports, calling the players “heartbroken” and “the end of the season”.
“The [United] fans didn’t expect to get something tonight. It’s predictable, but I can’t explain how he went from promising at the end of last season, when United finished second, to where we are today, and that’s all in a short amount of time. “I have never seen him so bad. IT WASN’T PERFECT when I played against Liverpool, but they never made it easy for us. I have never seen a United team wither or be as shaky as they are in this game.”
United, who were knocked out of the Champions League last 16 last month, travel to Arsenal on Saturday for a game not to be missed if they are to keep their hopes of a top-four finish. They are 22 points behind the leaders of Liverpool and five ahead of them, finishing second last season.