Ralf Rangnick aims dig at Cristiano Ronaldo after Man Utd defeat; details Fred injury

Ralf Rangnick bemoaned Cristiano Ronaldo’s lack of ‘physicality’ following Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to Everton away from home.

The Red Devils had the chance to reach fifth place, overtaking the likes of Arsenal and West Ham. However, they failed to score at Goodison Park and resultantly lost to Frank Lampard’s relegation-battling side.

Anthony Gordon’s 27th-minute strike proved to be the difference. He fired at goal on his favoured right foot and saw it beat David de Gea thanks to a deflection off Harry Maguire.

Ronaldo was one of the players who failed to make an impact. He couldn’t get the better of Everton centre-halves Ben Godfrey and Michael Keane, leading to few clear-cut chances.

After the match, Rangnick spoke to BBC Sport about United’s problems. While he didn’t namecheck Ronaldo, it’s clear the German wasn’t impressed by his performance.

“It’s not only creativity. I think we had enough creative payers on the pitch,” Rangnick said. “It’s also about being physical enough in the final third, being physical and trying to score a goal. We didn’t have enough players in the box.”

United’s chances of getting the final Champions League place are thinning each week. Last time out they were held to a 1-1 draw by Leicester City.

On the club’s top-four hopes, Rangnick said: “Difficult. As long as we don’t win our own games it doesn’t make sense to hope for good results from the other teams.”

Fred started the clash but had to go off in the 36th minute after pulling up with an injury. “Fred had some muscular problems on his hip flexor,” Rangnick added. “We already are without [Scott] McTominay. Without both defensive midfielders it isn’t good for us.”

During a post-match interview with BT Sport, de Gea said: “We knew