Ralf Rangnick explains why Manchester United's exit from FA Cup was their 'own fault'

Manchester United's trophy drought continues as they were eliminated from the FA Cup fourth round following defeat against Middlesbrough on Friday night. After the scores were tied at 1-1 after both regular time and extra time, Chris Wilder's side won the match in a scintillating fashion on penalties. 

Middlesbrough scored all eight of their penalties, while Anthony Elanga's miss in the decisive moment meant that the Red Devils' wait for silverware will continue, having not won a trophy since the UEFA Europa League in 2016/17.

Ralf Rangnick analyzes Manchester United vs Middlesbrough game

Even though Manchester United dominated the game against Middlesbrough, they could not capitalise on the number of chances they created. The Red Devils had a staggering 30 shots at goal but only nine on target and one goal to show for at the end of the match. In stark contrast, Chris Wilder's side had six goals, with three on target, including the all-important equalizer scored by Matt Crooks in the 64th minute of the game.

After a disappointing exit from the FA Cup, Ralf Rangnick told ManUtd.com in his post-match interview, "In the first half we should have easily been 3-0 up and second half we had chances too. We should have won the game in normal time. On penalties, it can happen what happened today. We have to take our chances better and with more quality than we did today. It was our own fault – we should not have gone into extra time and penalties. For example, Bruno [Fernandes] chance [near the end] – if he has 10 of these in a match he scores nine."

Owing to yet another crushing defeat, it does not seem that Manchester United's five-year drought for a trophy will end any time soon as they are a whopping 19 points behind leaders Manchester City in the Premier League. While the Red Devils have made it to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, they are definitely not the favourites to win the title considering their recent poor form.

Ralf Rangnick analyzes Middlesbrough's controversial equalizer

Even though Ralf Rangnick was quick to admit that Manchester United lost because of their own fault, he did believe that the result could have been different had Matt Crook's controversial second-half equalizer not stood after Duncan Watmore 'handled' the ball before passing it.

"How can it be accidental if he controls the ball up in the air with his hand? It was clear it should not stand but in the end, I was really surprised it stood," added the German manager. Surprisingly, opposition manager Chris Wilder too believed it was handball and was afraid that 'it would be chalked out.'

Image: AP