‘Curious refereeing decisions’ – Ralf Rangnick points finger at official after Man Utd crash out of Champions League
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Updated 16/03/2022 at 09:29 GMT
Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick claims referee Slavko Vincic fell for Atletico Madrid’s stalling tactics at Old Trafford. Atletico advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals 2-1 on aggregate, winning 1-0 at United in the second leg and frustrating the hosts for large parts of the match. Rangnick called the official’s performance “curious”.
'Time-wasting antics by Atletico. Ref made it easy' Rangnick
Ralf Rangnick questioned the “curious refereeing decisions” after Manchester United were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid.
A 1-0 win at Old Trafford was enough to help Atletico reach the quarter-finals and signal another trophyless season for United.
Interim boss Rangnick was irked by the performance of Slavko Vincic, accusing the official of falling for Atletico’s stalling tactics in the second half and wondering why only four minutes of stoppage time were added on.
"I think we played a very good first half - exactly the way we wanted to play with a high energy level but we couldn't convert that into one or two goals,” Rangnick told BT Sport.
"We had a few good moments where we should have scored but we didn't. Conceding that counter-attacking goal just before half-time didn't make life any easier.
"It was hard in the second half and always interrupted. There was always somebody lying on the floor. I would also say some curious refereeing decisions. I wouldn't say they were decisive but at least he fell too often for those time-wasting antics and four minutes at the end added on was a joke for me."
United must now finish in the top four in order to reach the Champions League next season, but Rangnick is not yet thinking about how they eventually close the gap on the leading front three teams in England – Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
He added: "It's now too early. We still have another nine games to play in the Premier League. We will try to finish off this season in the highest possible level.
"We want to qualify for the Champions League again and we're fully aware that to do that we have to win most of those nine games.
"Right now to think about how we can close the gap to the top teams is too early. My focus is on finishing the highest possible level with this team then it is time to speak about other things."
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