"Only team in the league that concedes goals like this" - Ralf Rangnick blasts Manchester United's defensive display against Norwich

Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick has criticized the Red Devils' defensive performance in their 3-2 win against Norwich City on Saturday.

Rangnick and Co earned a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Norwich in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick for the hosts, while Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki netted for the Canaries.

While Manchester United emerged victorious in the end, it was another shaky performance from them at the back. It is worth noting that Norwich scored more than one goal in an away game for just the third time this season on Saturday.

Reflecting on the Red Devils' defensive display against Dean Smith's men, Rangnick admitted that his side made it easy for their opponents. The German cut a frustrated figure after the match as he claimed Manchester United are the only Premier League team that concede cheap goals like they did against Norwich. He was quoted as saying by Sky Sports:

"If you look at the two goals we conceded, especially the first one, we had the ball on the sideline but we were just not physical enough. As soon as there is body contact we have to be more physical, more aggressive, but we weren't. It was, for me, too easy, and that's why we are probably the only team in the league who concedes goals like this."

Rangnick also conceded that Norwich could have easily scored at least one more goal against the Red Devils at Old Trafford. He said:

"We should have defended in a smarter way and not allowed them to have two or three transitional moments with playing three versus two or four versus two. To be honest, Norwich could have scored earlier than we did concede the first goal. We could have conceded a goal earlier than that and that's why I'm not really happy with our performance when we were not in possession of the ball."

Pukki and Milot Rashica had good chances to find the back of the net for Norwich on Saturday. However, David de Gea produced two fine saves to prevent the Canaries duo from scoring.

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Manchester United close the gap with fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur

The Red Devils' defensive performance against Norwich may not have been the best. However, the result proved to be a huge one for them as they moved closer to fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.

While Manchester United beat Norwich, their top-four rivals Tottenham and Arsenal suffered defeats on Saturday. Spurs and the Gunners lost 1-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton, respectively.

The Old Trafford outfit have now reduced the gap with Tottenham to three points. They are also level on points with Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta's side have a game in hand.