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Ralf Rangnick praised the way in which Manchester United reacted to adversity in their thrilling win over Leeds United.
United had looked set for a comfortable win over their old rivals on Sunday when Harry Maguire and Bruno Fernandes gave them a 2-0 lead, but a rapid double from Leeds duo Rodrigo and Raphinha restored parity.
But substitutes Fred and Anthony Elanga struck to ensure United opened up a four-point lead over fifth-placed West Ham in the Premier League. The Red Devils have scored 10 top-flight goals through substitutes this season, more than any other side.
And the character and maturity shown by United was of great satisfaction to Rangnick, who told reporters: “After the first 15 minutes, we had good control of the game and could have been three or four [goals] up.
“[But] within two minutes it was a completely different situation and atmosphere in the stadium. The five minutes after that were intense, very difficult for us, after that, the team showed maturity.
“I don’t know if this would have happened two or three months ago, but it happened today.
“It was not easy, even more so since we had [other] experiences like that, where we were 1-0 up or 2-1 up against Aston Villa and only got one point [in a 2-2 draw last month].
“It was important as an experience for the team, not only for the three points.”
The 59 seconds between Rodrigo and Raphinha’s goals marked the fastest that a team has scored twice in the same league game against United since West Brom in May 2013 (52 seconds), in what was Alex Ferguson’s final game in charge.
But like his manager, captain Maguire was delighted with United’s reaction.
“I think that [the reaction to Leeds’ equaliser] was the most pleasing aspect,” Maguire told Sky Sports.
“We had to stick together. We knew it’s a tough place to come but we knew we had qualities and that we could hurt them.”
Maguire’s opener was the Old Trafford club’s first goal from a corner since a 3-1 win over Burnley in April 2021, and represented the England defender’s first goal of the Premier League season.
United also became the first team in Premier League history to reach 700 wins in the competition.
