RON ON SONG BUT RALF RAGES
RALF RANGNICK has warned his Manchester United stars that they have no chance of taking even a point from their upcoming trip to Liverpool if they repeat the performance that earned them victory over Norwich.
A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick helped United claim all three points and boost their Premier League top-four hopes after an unexpected Tottenham slip-up.
However, having seen his side throw away a two-goal lead en route to beating bottom side Canaries, Rangnick struck a pessimistic note post-match.
He said: “Everybody has seen today’s game, you all know what kind of team we are playing on Tuesday.
“They beat Manchester City today, they’re in the cup final, they might in the end have a chance to win four trophies this season.
“If we play like we did today, it will be very, very difficult to get even a point out of this game.
“We need to raise our own level and standard.the players we have available today have to arrive to Liverpool and just get anything out of that game.we need three points, it can happen in football, it has happened before.
“But we need to be realistic, we have to play a lot better.”
After David de Gea had been forced into a smart early save from Teemu Pukki, United raced into a comfortable lead over their relegation-threatened opponents.
Anthony Elanga set up the first, picking Ben Gibson’s pocket before laying the ball on a plate for Ronaldo to smash home from close range.and, after a string of chances for the hosts, Ronaldo grabbed his second when he easily outjumped Gibson to head home an Alex Telles corner.
But while United were playing well going forward, they continued to give up chances at the other end and it was no real surprise when Norwich struck back before the break, Pukki crossing well for
an unmarked Kieran Dowell to head home at the back post.
Boosted by that goal, the Canaries came out strongly in the second half, and were level within seven minutes of the restart.
Dowell this time turned provider, threading a through-ball that Pukki slotted in off the post to send the away fans wild.
With the game level going into the final 20 minutes Rangnick looked to his bench, with the decision to substitute Paul Pogba greeted by cheers from a frustrated home crowd.
Soon afterwards, matchwinner Ronaldo smashed home a freekick that Tim Krul failed to keep out, despite getting a strong hand to the ball.
That left Norwich boss Dean Smith lamenting his team’s failure to turn an encouraging performance into a share of the points. He said: “The players are fighting to stay up and we’ll continue fighting.”