Ralf Rangnick has admitted Cristiano Ronaldo “should score more goals” for Manchester United – but insists his side’s struggles in front of goal are down to all of United’s attacking players.
The Red Devils have taken 52 shots in the last two games against Middlesbrough and Burnley, scoring just twice, and exited the FA Cup and lost points to the Premier League bottom side in the process.
Ronaldo missed a penalty against Boro and was a late substitute at Turf Moor, and he has now gone five games without scoring a goal.
Questionable defending in both matches saw United’s opponents back in the game, but Rangnick insisted ahead of Saturday’s game against Southampton at Old Trafford that Ronaldo was not the only one to blame – even though he seemed to challenge the 37-year-old.
“It’s not just about Cristiano Ronaldo,” Rangnick said.
“He should score more goals, that’s obvious, I think we’ve created enough chances and chances in the last two games, but we just haven’t scored enough goals, but it’s not It’s not just a problem with Cristiano, it’s a problem with other players, especially attacking players, we don’t score enough goals.
“If you keep in mind the number of chances we’re creating, and that’s also something that needs to improve in the next two weeks. At Burnley, in 70 of those 90 minutes, it was very, very, very close to the game plan that we talked about before the game and now it’s about rewarding ourselves and getting the results we should deserve. »
Harry Maguire was at fault for the equalizer at Burnley, and criticism for the club captain inevitably followed. But Rangnick refused to blame the England international alone.
“I think he had an outstanding game at West Ham. We could have defended the transition moments better at Burnley, but the rest of our defense wasn’t really good. We shouldn’t have let the counterattack happen.
“Harry was injured, came back and had a very good game against West Ham. [I’m] sure he can play like that tomorrow. »
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