Ralf Rangnick has told his side that must keep things tight and not concede in the opening minutes again when they face Chelsea.
Manchester United take on another great rival in the Blues on Thursday night and run the risk of losing heavily for a third successive match after being hammered by Liverpool and Arsenal in their last two outings, 4-0 and 3-1, respectively. Champions League qualification is all but gone for United but a strong display at Old Trafford could ensure that they don't slip further down the table.
United attacked well at Arsenal but it was yet more shambolic defending that cost them. They conceded after just two minutes at the Emirates, only a few days after going behind in the fifth minute against Liverpool.
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Rangnick believes they must ensure they don't go a goal down early on once again if they are to get a result against Chelsea. “I mean, as we did for at least 60 minutes against Arsenal," Rangnick told United's in-house media. when asked what he wanted to see from his players.
"I think I wouldn’t say we were the better team but, on the eye level for sure, in parts, we were the better team and could have won the game if Bruno had converted that penalty. From that very moment, it would have been a different game and we might have been in a position to even win the game.
"We didn’t, we missed the penalty, hit the crossbar and, two times, hit the post and were not very lucky with the VAR decisions, as I said after the game. It was the kind of performance we need to show, we need to fight and even more so against a team like Chelsea.
"We need to be behind the ball, be aggressive, with all the players involved and take the ball away from them and not let them play. We must create chances, on the other hand, in our moments in possession and create as many chances as we possibly can to score the necessary goals.
"We showed against Tottenham and Leeds away that we are able to score goals but it would also be helpful not to concede in the early stages of the games, as we did against Liverpool, Manchester City and in the last game at Arsenal.”
When asked if he wanted his side to end the season on a high for supporters, the German continued: “Yes, very important, but, in those remaining four games, we just have to try to get the best possible results out of those games. Hopefully, we’ll start tomorrow against Chelsea and then, a couple of days later, at home to Brentford.
"We owe that to our fantastic supporters and it would also be important for us for next season to finish those two games at home with two good results.”
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