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Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick slammed his side’s inability to finish Watford off and claim all three points at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils had 22 shots on target in the 90 minutes at Old Trafford, but only managed three on target. Indeed, they dominated most of the game, either side of a few half-chances for Watford.

However, Roy Hodgson’s Hornets held on for a 0-0 draw and an impressive away point in their fight against Premier League relegation.

For Man Utd, though, it is two points dropped as they look to finish in the top four at the end of the season.

Rangnick told BBC Sport (via Twitter) after the match: “It is [frustrating], we did everything than scoring. Hard to take that result. We were in full control for almost the full game.

“We need to be sharper in front of goal and can hardly create more chances than we did. A frustrating afternoon.

“Had anyone told me that we would create that many clear chances I would have said ‘yes, that is enough for us to score one of two goals at least’. But we didn’t.”

Rangnick insisted, though, that the result was “not luck” for Watford  – or a lack of it for United.

The hosts had the ball cleared off the line twice. Hornets goalkeeper Ben Foster played his part by reaching across the goal to deny Fernandes.

However, Anthony Elanga – the hero in midweek against Atletico Madrid – also blocked a goal-bound Cristiano Ronaldo effort off the line.

Rangnick added: “In the first half we had five massive chances then in the second half we had another three or four. Today we had enough chances to win that game.

When did Cristiano Ronaldo last score a free-kick?

“Sometimes we were unlucky like when Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post but we had one on one opportunities. This is not luck, this is sharpness, efficiency and being clinical.

“If I look back at the last three months, we have given away that many chances and that many points with draws, we should have four or six more points and the situation would be completely different.”

Rangnick frustrations echoed by Fernandes

United have made a habit of creating chances but failing to score enough goals in recent weeks.

They led in recent matches against Burnley and Southampton but eventually had to settle for 1-1 draws.

Against Southampton, Man Utd had eight shots on target from 12 attempts and three from nine against the Clarets.

But Fernandes picked out the FA Cup exit to Middlesbrough as the most similar game to the draw with Watford.

“We created chances,” the midfielder said. “I had two or three chances to score but today the ball did not go in. A really frustrating one.

“Almost the same happened v Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, we didn’t go through and didn’t win today.

“We should have scored, it was one of them days where we could be here for a long time and not score a goal. The result is bad for us.”

United return to action next week when facing Manchester City in a crunch derby. The match has ramifications for the title race and top four.

However, they then face Tottenham, Atletico Madrid and Liverpool in some of their next matches.

The post ‘This is not luck’ – Rangnick slams three major Man Utd deficiencies as Fernandes names worrying trend appeared first on TEAMtalk.