EL OF A SUB
Man Utd verdict: Rangnick got tactics wrong but came up trumps with his subs as Elanga saves boss vs Atletico Madrid
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RALF RANGNICK cannot keep relying on his Swedish teenage star to make an El of an impact off the bench.
But at least the Manchester United boss was brave enough to fix his tactical mistakes to help his team get a result.
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The Red Devils were pegged back for nearly all of the first half by Atletico Madrid but escaped from the Spanish capital with a vital draw thanks to Anthony Elanga.
The 19-year-old came off the bench for the second-straight game to score and earn a vital Champions League last-16 first leg draw.
But despite battling back from Joao Felix’s early header, there are still plenty of questions for Rangnick.
The surprise choice of Victor Lindelof at right-back in place of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot raised a few eyebrows but it failed to provide a spark that Ralf Rangnick was looking for.
His two defensive rivals offer far more going forward and are a lot more comfortable on the ball, which resulted in United having no outlet on the right.
He made a great sliding challenge to deny Jose Luis Gimenez early on and got a couple of clearances in, but in truth the Swede was given the runaround all night by Renan Lodi and Joao Felix.
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With half an hour on the clock, Lindelof to Raphael Varane was the highest pass combination in the match - and that told you everything you needed to know about they starved Marcus Rashford.
Alongside him it was Raphael Varane, who is still failing to show the composure he showed at Real Madrid, and Harry Maguire, whose slow reaction allowed Felix’s header to open the scoring, and Luke Shaw down the left.
And the four of them had plenty of work to do throughout the opening period as Atletico’s press had United on the ropes.
Not that the Red Devils made it hard for the LaLiga champions as everyone came short instead of running behind, a piece of cake for Diego Simeone’s men.
Up top the frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo hardly got a kick and had to wait until the 36th minute for his first opportunity against his old city rivals.
Rashford wasted one chance to tee-him up while Jadon Sancho also struggled to make an impact on his limited service.
And the stat that summed it all up was that United failed to have a single touch in the opposition box in the first half of a Champions League game for the first time since the 2005/06 season.
United legend Paul Scholes hit the nail on the head at half time when he told BT Sport that his old team had been ‘bullied’ and ‘that all the problems have come down the right side’ where Lindelof was.
CH-CH-CHANGES
But fair play to Rangnick, shortly after the restart he quickly made amends with a triple sub.
The awful Paul Pogba was hooked for the second straight game and replaced with Nemanja Matic to add more steel in the midfield and stop the Atletico press.
Lindelof’s misery was over as Aaron Wan-Bissaka took over at full-back and Alex Telles was deployed at the back on the other flank.
Instantly United looked stronger and began to press - but still talisman Ronaldo could not get involved.
The Red Devils were enjoying most of the possession but were lacking bite with the Portuguese legend, Jadon Sancho and Rashford all ineffective.
But when you have an ace up your sleeve like the talented teen Elanga then you always have a chance.
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Bruno Fernandes was one of the worst performers on the pitch, but he showed a glimpse of his magic with the perfectly-weighted pass for the sub to latch on to a finish - albeit not as sweetly as he would have liked.
It’s plain to see that there is still plenty of work for United to do - as you can see from our player ratings - but the boss holding up his hands when he has got it wrong is always a good start to making things better.
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