Rangnick: We had to takes risks
Goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes, either side of a Lewis Dunk red card, gave United a 2-0 win at Old Trafford.
The scoreline suggests it was a comfortable performance but it was far from it, as Brighton put the hosts under serious pressure in the first half. De Gea came to the rescue on more than one occasion to keep the scores level.
“They are probably one of the top three teams in possession of the ball,” Rangnick said of Brighton after the game.
“They are very possession-based with a lot of conviction and confidence. It’s not so easy. Even teams like Manchester City and Liverpool were struggling against them. You have to go all in and take almost every risk to attack them.”
Rangnick said ‘this was a very important win’ for Manchester United, ‘even more so after the first half ’.
The German said it was ‘very difficult to intercept and get hold of the ball’.
“I think we had the better chances in the first half but they had far too [many] and for too long,” he said.
“The supporters realised that and were a little bit anxious and nervous in the first half. That’s why we had to take more risks and attack them in higher positions.
“We had a better second half than a first half.
“It paid off that we were more aggressive. We were trying to intercept and attack in higher positions.
“The question at half time was do we change formation or change the way we attack.
“We decided to stick to our 4-3-2-1. We told our two wingers, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Elanga, to attack their centre backs.”