said he was relieved Hannibal Mejbri was not sent off during ’s loss to Liverpool but admitted the player was too enthusiastic with his challenges.
United were thrashed 4-0 at Anfield on Tuesday night, with goals from Luis Diaz, and a brace from sealing a comfortable win for the Reds.
Rangnick’s side were lacklustre throughout the game, showing very little fight or intensity save for Mejbri’s late cameo.
The 19-year-old attacking midfielder was subbed on with 10 minutes remaining and almost instantly found himself in the referee’s book for a late challenge on Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.
For the remainder of the match, Mejbri continued to tackle aggressively and could have seen a second yellow for getting involved in various confrontations with the opposing players.
Speaking after the match, interim manager Rangnick discussed his player’s short but eventful time on the pitch, saying: ‘Normally it’s better to give a player like him a debut when you are 3-0 up but we haven’t been 3-0 up so often this season that’s why I decided to play him for the last 10 minutes.
‘He was a little bit over-motivated in those two moments, but I think the referee had the right feeling to not send him off.’
The Red Devils are chasing a top four finish and with a tricky run-in of games coming up – including fixtures against Arsenal and Chelsea – Rangnick will be glad to still have the promising Mejbri available, especially with fellow midfielder Paul Pogba now ruled out with injury.
Meanwhile, former United captain Gary Neville hailed Mejbri’s efforts, telling Sky Sports: ‘To be fair, at least the kid’s showing a bit of something.
‘Honestly, it takes a young kid to come on and show the rest of them how to sprint to the ball and put a challenge in.
‘I’m actually proud of him. Maybe he doesn’t like the idea of Liverpool players passing round him. I wish the rest of them were the same.’
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