Ralf Rangnick's pre-match concern over Manchester United's quality in possession proved to be a deciding factor as his side threw away a two-goal lead against Aston Villa on Saturday.
United's interim coach could only watch on from the sidelines as two late goals from Jacob Ramsey and substitute Philippe Coutinho cancelled out Bruno Fernandes ' brace to snatch a point for the hosts at Villa Park.
It was arguably one of United's better performances under Rangnick and they looked on course to claim all three points, only for them to tire - particularly in the middle of the park - and let Villa back into the game.
And Rangnick felt his team could have done a better job in thwarting Villa's comeback, just as he anticipated prior to the game.
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Speaking ahead of the game, Rangnick said: "One of the biggest issues we have is that we lose too many balls in transition when we are in possession, it’s one of the things that worries me most to be honest.”
United frequently surrendered possession in the second half to their opponents and soon paid for it.
New signing Coutinho's introduction off the bench was inspired, and the Brazilian played a key part in setting up Ramsey's well-taken goal before finishing off the equaliser himself.
Assessing the performance, Rangnick said after the final whistle: "Yes it’s very difficult to find some positives after these 95 minutes.
"There were some spells where I thought it was our first game since I came here. Again we saw we have taken some steps forward but still so much more to do.
"The plan was to press them in the mid zone area and we did that well in the first thirty minutes Those were the positives in the first part of the game.
"But, when you’re 2-0 you have to defend better. We gave too many balls away at times. We were not compact at times.
"Not in the first half hour. They didn’t have a shot on our goal. "[After that] we weren’t as compact and courageous. There is nothing else we can do, we have the next important game next.
He added: "Right now the whole team is disappointed with the result. This draw doesn’t feel like one point, it feels like two points given away."
Rangnick's comments were echoed by Fernandes, who conceded United gave Villa a licence to punish them by not killing the game off.
"We got our chances and still could not score again. The shot was not good, the pass was not good. The run or whatever was not working,' Fernandes admitted.
"They started to get more passes between the lines and out wide. When you give them that space with the quality they have, they will hurt you.
"I think the performance was better than the result for sure. Probably more controlled. We controlled the game better than before. We deserve more. But, the game is about deserving, it’s about points. Unlucky for us.
"But, still a lot to improve on even if the performance was good. I’m not happy at all. Everyone is happy to score goals but I prefer to win. I prefer to take away my goals and we win.
"Today makes not sense my two goals, because we got one point and we wanted three."
