Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick was left to bemoan his side’s wasteful finishing once more as they were held to a goalless draw by Watford on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck the post and had a decent penalty claim turned down, while Anthony Elanga, Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba all missed guilt-edged chances.
In all, United had 22 shots but just three on target as they failed to find a way past Ben Foster.
The result represented another setback to United’s top four ambitions. Rangnick’s side remain in fourth but are only two points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal, who have three games in hand.
“It feels once again like two points dropped that we should have easily won,” Rangnick said.
“I think we did everything apart from scoring. We had in both halves enough chances to win that game. But we didn’t, and that’s why we, not for first time, dropped two important points in a very important game.
“In the first half we had four clear opportunities that normally are enough to score at least one or two goals, and in the second half it was similar.
“In the end it’s about efficiency, about being clinical in front of goal, and this is not for the first time unfortunately.
“But apart from that we were in full control of the game. They had one or two moments, but apart from that we dominated the game completely.”
Saturday’s draw came after back-to-back Premier League victories for United, in which they seemed to have found some cutting edge after similarly frustrating draws against Burnley and Southampton earlier this month.
“It is difficult to say,” Rangnick added, when asked why his talented forwards were struggling for form in front of goal. “Our job as coaches and the head coach is to help the team create enough chances.
“If we only had two or three opportunities in the game, we could ask ourselves what can we do to create even more. But I think the number of clear chances we had today has to be enough to win a game like this.”
