Jurgen Klopp admits he "feels for Ralf Rangnick" and his situation at Manchester United as their struggles continue.
The German took interim charge at Old Trafford back in December and arrived with a glowing reputation as the Red Devils sought to resurrect their season. However, in the months since, results and performances have continued to nosedive. Rangnick has largely avoided criticism with the club's players and hierarchy copping the majority of the flack.
Their flaws were exposed in midweek as they lost 4-0 at Anfield. Liverpool, who claimed a 5-0 win at Old Trafford earlier this year, ran riot against a United side missing several players through injury. Klopp knows Rangnick well given their time in Germany and confessed he felt sympathy for the situation he finds himself in.
He told Sky Sports : "In this situation and moment it was really difficult for United to come here. It is one of those situations where it's not going well and then you look at the schedule and its like 'oh my god, we have to go there'. So it was not a perfect set-up for them. Yes we are in a good moment, so it was really difficult for them.
"I can imagine it is really hard. I obviously know Ralf Rangnick and I know how it sounds when the Liverpool manager says I feel for Ralf Rangnick, but it is like that because I understand it is really difficult." The Reds boss though knows, no matter their current advantage, that their rivals will be out for revenge in the future.
He added: "We go to Liverpool, who are playing really good, and okay we actually have no defensive midfielders - that's not good news. It is not cool but that's the situation they are in. But I am not interested in gulfs or distances between us and them. I know we'll go there next year and they'll have the results from last year in their mind and it makes it more difficult for us when we arrive."
Where will Man Utd finish next season? Let us know in the comments
Rangnick was, again, forced to face the music following their latest loss on Saturday, this time at Arsenal. The Gunners ran out 3-1 winners in north London to all but end any feint hopes United had of making the top four. For the first time in Premier League history the Red Devils have now lost four away games on the bounce.
Jesse Lingard gave a damning verdict about the state of the United dressing room, labelling it as "disaster". Rangnick was forced to respond to such claims and said: "I think the whole group get on reasonable with each other, I'm not daring to say they get on well with each other. But I don't see there is an issue in regard to the locker room."
