Ralf Rangnick has urged his Man United players to follow Anthony Elanga’s lead and enjoy their football more.
Elanga came off the bench to earn United a 1-1 draw away to Atletico Madrid, in a match that they were second best in for large periods.
The teenager also scored against Leeds on the weekend, and his boss hopes Elanga’s energy will rub off on his more experienced teammates.
“He’s playing as if his dream’s come true, and there’s just joy and fun to watch him play,” Rangnick said.
“I wish a few other players would take him as an example, almost like a role model. Not because he’s doing everything right, but he just’s enjoying himself on the pitch and that’s what it’s all about.
“Football is an important sport, even more so for our supporters, but it’s still a ball game and you have to enjoy yourself on the pitch. This is what I would wish us to do in the future, also when we play [Atletico] again in a couple of weeks.”
United fell behind after just seven minutes against Atletico, as Joao Felix powered a header past David de Gea.
Although they will be happy to take a draw back to Old Trafford for the second leg, Rangnick was concerned with a lot of what he saw in the opening 45 minutes.
“After the performance in the first half, it could only get better,” Rangnick said.
“What we played in the first half I still cannot believe. We played without conviction, without aggression and that is why we were struggling.
“Second half we did better, more possession in areas that mattered and if we played another 10 minutes we might have won the game.
“We have to play better in the first half, I was very disappointed by that performance.”
