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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Nathan Ridley

Ralf Rangnick responds to Anthony Elanga chant by picking out teammate who changed game

Ralf Rangnick has revealed that he is a fan of Anthony Elanga's newly-coined chant which has taken the Manchester United fan base by storm.

Elanga scored the Red Devils' late equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, receiving an abundance of praise from his boss post-match and prompting supporters to sing his name all the way home.

But after Rangnick raved about the 19-year-old in the hours following the Champions League round-of-16 tie, he used his press conference on Friday to praise another substitute who changed the game in United's favour - Nemanja Matic.

Ahead of their Premier League match at home to Watford on Saturday, the acclaimed German coach said of the chant: "Yes, I know, everyone could hear that song - 'rhythm is a dancer', yes, I know that song.

Join the debate! Should Elanga start against Watford? Give us your XI here.

"It's nice for the boy and it shows how creative our supporters are, but I also must say although all the headlines were quite logically in his favour, it was not only him.

"In the second half, we changed the momentum, we re-grouped the whole team and it was not only him, but the other subs, including Nemanja Matic, who helped changed the game."

Rangnick was critical of his side's performance before he made the changes, adding: "In the first half, we were too cautious in possession, too passive, too static and we made it in the first 45 minutes too easy for Atletico to put pressure on us.

"That's why we had only a few of the moments that we could challenge them at the back.

"This changed in the second half and that was one of the major reasons why we were able to equalise. At the end, with five or 10 minutes more to play, we might have even won the game. In the end, it was about the result.

"The result was good and it leaves us with all the chance in the world to proceed to the next round. It will be a tough to game to play in three weeks."

Matic was picked out by Rangnick as a key player (Getty Images)

Elanga revealed post-match in Madrid that he had studied Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, using what he had learned when taking his goal, and Rangnick was pleased with the teenager's willingness to do his homework.

"If Anthony really did that, it just shows what kind of professional, what kind of character he is," the 63-year-old stated.

"He should get all the credit that he gets, but, as I said, it's not only him. It's also the whole team and the performance in the second half made us change the game."

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