"It was a terrible performance" - Ralf Rangnick apologises to fans after 'humiliating' Manchester United defeat at Brighton
The Manchester United faithful cannot wait for this season to end and the wait is just getting more painful for them. The Red Devils were hoping to end their dreadful campaign on a strong note but produced a miserable performance away from home against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Ralf Rangnick's side were outplayed by the Seagulls, who managed to score four goals past David de Gea in an hour. They could have scored more in the other thirty minutes but were happy to keep a clean sheet against Manchester United.
Speaking after the game, the boss accepted that his team were indeed poor, which has been a theme away from home. The German said, (via Express):
"It was a terrible performance. From the first until the last minute, it was not enough. We can only apologise for this performance and a humiliating defeat. [Monday's win over Brentford] was a different game, we just gave too much time and space."
The Red Devils were too open at times. The likes of Solomon March and Leandro Trossard enjoyed cutting inside from the flanks, playing one-two passes with fellow teammates. Rangnick admitted to his team's shortcomings in the post-match interview as well.
"We were never in a position where we could stop them playing through our lines, we told the players to be as compact as they could but we couldn't stop it."
A disappointing day for Manchester United.
🔴😳📱 A disappointing day for Manchester United. https://t.co/R544kT36ml
The Manchester United interim manager had no hesitation in accepting the quality Brighton possessed and that his team ultimately had no response to Graham Potter's side.
"I don't think they [United players] ignored the gameplan but we weren't able to stop them. We gave them too much space and if you do that against a technically good team like Brighton, you will get punished."
Manchester United supporters slam players with brutal chants
The traveling supporters of the Red Devils were annoyed at what they saw from their players and did not hold back from expressing their feelings. After the final whistle, chants of "you're not fit to wear the shirt" echoed around the stadium as the Manchester United players exited, seemingly dejected.
Ralf Rangnick's team were in the game until the first-half where, despite Brighton being dominant in the final-third, they could only find one goal. It cam from a Moises Caicedo strike in the 15th minute.
But the floodgates opened in the second-half as the Seagulls found the back of the net three times in a span of 11 minutes, with Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gros, and Leandro Trossard all finishing clinically.
Brighton 4-0 Manchester United
Five Premier League away defeats away in a row will be United's worst run since 1981 https://t.co/jHFKOlxSG7
Manchester United will play their final game of the campaign against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on May 22nd. It's safe to say that if they perform anything close to how they performed at the Amex Stadium in this game, the traveling support will batter them again.