Ralf Rangnick described Liverpool’s 4-0 triumph over Manchester United as “very embarrassing,” but admits Jurgen Klopp’s team is far superior at the moment.
Two goals from Mohamed Salah and strikes from Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz sent the Reds to the top of the Premier League as they won another memorable triumph against their closest rivals, making it 9-0 in the two meetings this season.
Liverpool was significantly superior throughout the 90-minute period, as Klopp’s men dominated proceedings to go two points clear of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City ahead of Wednesday’s visit from Brighton.
Rangnick feels Klopp’s six years at Anfield, as well as the club’s astute work in the transfer market, have allowed Liverpool to leapfrog United, despite a bitterly depressing night on Merseyside.
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“Jurgen came in six years ago and inherited a club that finished seventh, and this is roughly where we are now,” Rangnick added. “However, with each subsequent transfer window, they build the type of squad they have today.” I’m not blaming anyone but look at the team they have available and the players who aren’t even in it.
“The talent and teamwork of Firmino, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, and Elliott is evident. It is not just the talent of the players that matters, but also their mentality. They have 25 Formula One racing cars in their squad, in my opinion.
“I don’t believe anyone has psychologically checked out; it’s just on a different level.” They have better players than we do, and it shows in the outcome. Sure, there will be a rebuild, but that won’t help us right now. It’s incredibly humiliating, and you just have to recognize that they’re better than us.”
“We have to be critical of ourselves,” he added. We did not want to watch or play the way we did in the opening 45 minutes. We elected to play with a back five because all of our defensive midfielders were unavailable.
“Norwich had five or six huge scoring chances, and if it hadn’t been for David de Gea, we could have conceded with three or four.” The first half had little to do with our formation, in my opinion.
“The manner in which we conceded the opening goal was not part of our game plan.” It harmed our self-esteem. The first half was insufficient, so we switched from a back five to a back four.
“The first 25 minutes of the second half were far better, but the narrative of those 25 minutes was that we did not score a goal.” The third goal was on the list of things we shouldn’t have done against Liverpool.”
