Rangnick disappointed after lacklustre United’s 1-1 draw with Newcastle
Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick said he “did not like the performance at all” after the Old Trafford club laboured to a 1-1 draw with relegation-battling Newcastle United.
Allan Saint-Maximin scored for the Magpies early on before United equalised through Edinson Cavani deep into the second half.
United struggled against Newcastle and Rangnick criticised his side’s ability to control the game.
“Today we didn’t control the game apart from a few moments,” he said. “It’s all about energy, physicality and who wins the second balls. In all those areas we weren’t at our best.
“You have to be ready and able to win those direct duels and this was not that often the case. When we were in possession we had too many giveaways and even with the goal, that doesn’t make things easy.
“Today was not a question of body language, it was a question of body physicality. If you want to be competitive here you have to get physical and this was not the case in many parts of the game.
“Our biggest problem was the mistakes we made. Even when we scored the equaliser we were not really controlling the game and taking the right decisions.
“I didn’t like the performance at all.”
The point meant Manchester United maintained their seventh placed position in the Premier League table while Newcastle are level on points with 18th placed Burnley.
Bottom placed side Norwich could jump both Newcastle and Burnley with a win over Crystal Palace today.
United play The Clarets on Thursday while Newcastle travel to Everton.