Man United ‘SHOULDN’T have to rely’ on Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics following his match-winning hat-trick against Norwich, claims Ralf Rangnick… as the interim boss warns they will get beaten by Liverpool if they fail to ‘raise’ level
- Ralf Rangnick feels Manchester United are too reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo
- Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in United’s 3-2 victory at home to Norwich City
- Rangnick says United must improve ahead of Tuesday’s clash against Liverpool
Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has warned that his team shouldn’t have to rely on the heroics of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portuguese star hit a hat-trick as United beat Norwich 3-2 at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils surviving a scare as the visitors equalised after being 2-0 down.
Despite United moving up to fifth place with the win, Rangnick was far from satisfied after the game and criticised the team’s build-up play and defending.
Ralf Rangnick has stressed that United cannot afford to be so reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo
Speaking to Match of the Day, when asked about Ronaldo’s contribution Rangnick said: ‘We should not only rely on him.
‘We played well at times but we sometimes slowed the game down and didn’t make use of overlap situations on the wing. Defensively I was not happy at all.
‘The results elsewhere were good. But it doesn’t make sense to look to other results. We need to raise our game.’
Ronaldo scored a hat-trick as Rangnick’s side secured a 3-2 victory at home to Norwich
Rangnick bemoaned United’s lack of aggressiveness following Ronaldo’s second goal and added that his team lost their structure.
He said: ‘After we scored our second goal we should have made life easier for ourselves but we didn’t.
‘We lost our structure and weren’t aggressive enough.’
Rangnick did, however, praised goalkeeper David de Gea for making some important stops.
He said: ‘It’s about being clever and smart. All of a sudden it was 2-2 and David de Gea kept us in the game. But we definitely have to raise our play.’
Rangnick praised David de Gea and said United must be better against Liverpool and Arsenal
United are three points adrift of Tottenham, who currently occupy fourth place. There are two crucial games on the horizon for United as they face Liverpool and Arsenal away.
Rangnick was eager to point out that United must improve if they are to take points from those fixtures.
He said: “If we want to get points out of those games we have to raise our level and play our best.”
