Sergio Aguero hailed Premier League champions Manchester City after a thrilling comeback against Aston Villa delivered another title for Pep Guardiola's team.

It was Aguero who was the hero when City landed their first Premier League triumph 10 years ago, when he struck deep into stoppage time to earn a 3-2 win over QPR on the final day.

A statue in honour of that moment was unveiled outside the Etihad Stadium earlier this month.

Aguero, who left City last year, is the club's record scorer and was quick to send his congratulations after Ilkay Gundogan's double and Rodri's strike saw the table-toppers roar back from 2-0 behind to beat Villa.

The comeback crushed Liverpool's title hopes, and Aguero wrote on Twitter: "Campeones campeones, I love you @ManCity."

Former City winger Leroy Sane, now at Bayern Munich, proposed City now build a monument in Gundogan's honour, offering an appreciative nod to his fellow Germany international.

Sane tweeted: "Maybe City should give this man a statue, too. Congrats Gundo, Congrats @ManCity."

Manchester City have been crowned Premier League champions for the fourth time in five seasons, seeing off a spirited challenge from Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola's men may not have won as many trophies as they would have liked this season, but they have been exceptional in defence of their league title in the face of stiff competition.

If City were not already intimidating enough, they will be adding one of the best strikers in world football to their ranks next season in the shape of Erling Haaland.

The lethal Norwegian will surely come in and plunder plenty of goals, just as he has in the Bundesliga at Borussia Dortmund before his £51million (€60m) move to the Etihad Stadium.

However, will his arrival realistically improve them all that much, or more to the point, can it?

That may sound like a ridiculous question, but looking at City's output this season, they have left themselves with very little room for improvement such are the levels they have consistently reached.

Stats Perform has broken down the numbers to try to predict just what kind of impact the impressive 21-year-old is likely to make in Manchester next season.

What Man City need

It has been a popular opinion that City have achieved what they have in the league in spite of not having a traditional striker.

Since Sergio Aguero left at the end of last season, Guardiola has mostly gone with any three of Jack Grealish, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus in attack.

They did spend a lot of time ahead of this season trying to lure Harry Kane from Tottenham, but failing to do so has arguably allowed them to find another way to break down opposition teams. 

Playing without a striker, City have still clinched the league title while collecting 93 points, the third-biggest total they have ever achieved, and scored 99 goals.

By not having an obvious focal point, it has been tricky for the opposition to know who is supposed to be on the end of attacks, and given none of those mentioned has scored more than 11 non-penalty goals in the league, that seems to have been the plan all along.

The perception might be that Guardiola's team have become less direct without a striker, and while that was true last season when Aguero played just 12 league games (seven starts) and they averaged a shot every 42.82 passes, and a goal every 309.05 passes, that came down to a shot every 36.63 passes this season, and a goal every 263.85.

Given Aguero's injury issues in his final campaign at City, you could argue the last time they regularly played with a striker was the 2019-20 season, which was the last time they did not win the league and collected only 81 points.

Since Guardiola arrived at the Etihad until the end of that season, his team averaged a shot every 38.10 passes, and a goal every 271.16, so they have possibly become more direct this term than they were with Aguero in the team.

By comparison, you may assume Haaland has been playing for a more direct team in Marco Rose's Dortmund, and this season in the Bundesliga, BVB scored once every 230.95 passes.

However, they actually only took a shot at goal once every 43.34 passes, so if anything it seems City are more direct than Dortmund, or maybe German teams are simply better organised defensively to stop shots.

 

What Haaland can bring

When you think of Haaland, you think of those direct and explosive runs into the penalty area, usually followed by emphatic finishes. When you think of City, you, erm, don't.

His addition could mean a change in style for the English champions, and the thought of Haaland getting on the end of the ridiculous range of passing from Kevin De Bruyne does indeed make the mouth water.

Do City as a team generally produce more with an orthodox striker, though?

Their record with and without Aguero makes for interesting reading. In the Premier League, the Argentine made 125 appearances under Guardiola, while City played 65 games without him.

In that time, they actually had a win percentage of 72.0 with him and 76.9 without, and even had a slightly better goal average (2.4 goals per game with, 2.5 without).

It is almost just as interesting to see Dortmund's record with and without Haaland. Since signing for the German club in January 2020, he has played 67 games, with Dortmund winning 65.7 per cent and averaging 2.4 goals for. Without him, they won just 61.1 per cent, though averaging only a slightly fewer 2.2 goals for.

It is questionable therefore whether the addition of Haaland will actually generate many if any more wins than they currently enjoy, but will he suit the way City play and can he add to their already impressive haul of goals?

Despite scoring more than any other team in the Premier League this season, no side missed more big chances (a chance from which a goal would normally be expected) than City's 65, though only Liverpool (97) created more than their 87.

City finished fifth in the league for big chance conversion (46.72), and so they will be hoping that part of what Haaland will bring them is putting more of those opportunities away.

In terms of finishing off big chances in the Bundesliga, nobody who scored at least five goals could match Haaland's incredible rate of 78.26 per cent, with even Bayern Munich great Robert Lewandowski only managing 46.67 per cent.

It must be noted though that Haaland's big chance conversion went down to 42.86 per cent in the Champions League, which is probably where City will hope he can make the biggest difference.

 

The league has not been their issue this season, though, rather the big games in cup competitions.

Their defeat to Liverpool in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley was relatively convincing, despite the 3-2 scoreline. With an xG (expected goals) of 1.75, it was more their leakiness at the other end that was their undoing, going in 3-0 down at half-time.

However, it is the Champions League where their biggest letdown occurred, despite what City fans will tell you about their apparent disdain for the competition.

Heading into injury time at the Santiago Bernabeu, City were 5-3 up on aggregate, only to somehow concede twice in two minutes, before a Karim Benzema penalty put them out at the semi-final stage.

Perhaps Haaland could have made a difference, particularly in that second leg where City slightly underperformed their xG of 1.37, though they did score four in the first leg off an xG of 2.70.

Again, you could argue it was more the defence that let them down, somehow conceding six goals despite largely dominating both legs, but in those key moments where City missed golden opportunities, you would think Haaland would have had more ice in his veins.

Match made in heaven?

How could one of the deadliest strikers in Europe not be a good signing? Haaland will almost certainly be a fan favourite and score plenty of goals in the sky blue of his father's former team.

In the league, it seems likelier he will more or less replace the goals of others rather than add to what they are already producing. It would be surprising to see the likes of Sterling, Mahrez, Foden and even De Bruyne score as many as they have this season if Haaland is already banging them in.

However, those fine margins in the cups could well be where he comes into his own, with Haaland either scoring important goals himself, or distracting defenders so that others can do the honours.

It will be interesting to see how City play with a striker, as it of course will mean they line up with one fewer attacking midfielder and will they therefore be able to dominate quite as much as they currently do?

Either way, it is difficult to see how they can do anything other than continue to be dominant with the big Norwegian around as Premier League defenders await what promises to be a busy season from August onwards.

Burnley were relegated from the Premier League after Leeds United dramatically defeated Brentford to leapfrog the Clarets, who fell to a 2-1 loss to Newcastle United on the final day.

Leeds headed into Sunday needing to better Burnley's result due to an inferior goal difference and they were celebrating as news filtered through of Callum Wilson's first-half penalty for Newcastle.

Raphinha converted from the penalty spot at Brentford in the second half to further aid Leeds' cause, with Wilson doubling Newcastle's lead on the hour at Turf Moor after a pass from Allan Saint-Maximin.

However, Maxwel Cornet reduced the deficit for Burnley when he finished past Martin Dubravka and matters worsened significantly for Leeds when substitute Sergi Canos headed to level for Brentford.

But Canos was cautioned for celebrating by taking his shirt off and then dismissed soon after for a foul on Raphinha, with Brentford reduced to nine men after making all their substitutes when they lost Kristoffer Ajer to injury.

And Jack Harrison confirmed Leeds' Premier League status for next season as he smashed in after 94 minutes. It was the Whites' fourth stoppage-time winner in the Premier League, no team this season has scored more.

It meant Leeds became the first side since Wigan in the 2010-11 Premier League season to head into the final day in the bottom three and survive, as Burnley join Norwich City and Watford in the Championship next term.

Manchester City are Premier League champions for a fourth time in five seasons, and a sixth time overall, after beating Aston Villa 3-2 in remarkable fashion on Sunday to hold off Liverpool.

City are now in front of Chelsea (five titles) as the competition's outright second most successful side and behind only Manchester United, who have lifted the title 13 times.

Indeed, only United (20), Liverpool (19), Arsenal (13) and Everton (nine) have won more titles in the history of the English top flight, dating back to 1888, than eight-time winners City.

The Citizens' latest title triumph was built on a solid defence and a potent attack, with no team in the division scoring more goals (99) or conceding fewer (26).

With the aid of Opta, Stats Perform looks at some of the other numbers behind City's successful title defence.

PEP PREVAILS ONCE MORE

City have won four of the past five Premier League titles, which is a level of dominance not seen in the competition since United lifted the trophy in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011.

Pep Guardiola has been at the helm for those four most recent triumphs, making him the fourth coach in English top-flight history to win four titles over a five-season period.

He is in quite some company, too, with Alex Ferguson (United), Bob Paisley (Liverpool) and George Ramsey (Villa) the other names on that list. 

The Catalan is only the eighth man to win as many as four English top-flight titles, while only Ferguson (13) has ever lifted the Premier League more times.

Following equally successful stints with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, Guardiola has now won the title in 10 of his 13 seasons as a top-flight manager.

To put that into some context, Massimiliano Allegri (6) is the sole other coach to have won more than five league crowns in that period across Europe's top five leagues.

CATCH US IF YOU CAN

City may have been pushed all the way in the end, but they spent 168 days at the summit – 98 more than any other team, and 157 more than valiant runners-up Liverpool.

The 2021-22 campaign did not get off to the best of starts for City, though, as they lost 1-0 at Tottenham on the opening weekend, with that one of only three losses all season.

That makes the Citizens only the fourth side in the Premier League era to lose their opening match yet still go on to win the title, and the 15th overall in English top-flight history.

CITY FALL JUST SHORT OF OWN RECORD

City had to do it the hard way. They were 2-0 down to Villa and matters looked bleak, but Ilkay Gundogan inspired a comeback for the ages.

It means City end the season with a positive goal difference of 73.

That is the second-highest goal difference in Premier League history, behind only their own mark of +79 in 2017-18 when scoring a record 106 goals and conceding 27.

The 26 goals conceded by City this term is an impressive return, though it is well short of the 15 let in by Chelsea in 2004-05.

GOALS GALORE

City may not have had a player who seriously challenged for the Golden Boot award, but the workload was shared with 16 different players registering a goal.

Set-pieces proved an important source of goals for the champions, who netted 22 times from corners and free-kicks, while conceding just once in this manner.

Their positive differential of 21 goals between set-piece goals scored and conceded is the largest on record in the Premier League since such data was first collected in 2008-09.

Manchester City had to do it the hard way on the final day of the season, but they won the Premier League title by defeating Aston Villa 3-2.

The title race went down to the wire, with City needing to match Liverpool's result against Wolves in order to win their fourth league crown under Pep Guardiola.

However, Matty Cash's goal midway through the first half at the Etihad Stadium put Villa, managed by Liverpool great Steven Gerrard, ahead going into half-time.

Ex-Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho then put Villa 2-0 up but – as they did against QPR to win their first Premier League title 10 years ago – City lodged an incredible comeback.

Ilkay Gundogan was the hero. The substitute dragged City back into it and then, after Rodri had restored parity, scored from close range to complete a sensational fightback.

It was needed, with Liverpool beating Wolves 3-1, but City have now won their sixth Premier League title, and their fourth in the space of five seasons.

Manchester City pulled off a stunning fightback to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and snatch the Premier League title as Pep Guardiola's side did it the hard way.

You could not script this drama and be taken seriously. Chasing a fourth title in five seasons, City knew victory would secure that, yet Steven Gerrard had Villa well organised and the hosts struggled to find their usual fluency.

Matty Cash's 37th-minute opener stunned the hosts, and former Liverpool forward Philippe Coutinho left City devastated when he lashed Villa two goals clear in the 69th minute.

But Ilkay Gundogan's header and Rodri's low strike dramatically hauled the hosts level with two goals in three minutes, before super-sub Gundogan slammed home City's third nine minutes from time, scotching Liverpool's title hopes.

It was shaping up from the early stages to be 90 minutes of City attack versus Villa defence and countering, with the hosts having had a shade under 75 per cent of possession in the first quarter. Phil Foden rolled a shot six inches wide, via a slight deflection, and Gabriel Jesus wasted a decent opening.

Villa found the breakthrough when their full-backs combined, Lucas Digne crossing from the left for Cash to head in from eight yards as Joao Cancelo failed to prevent the Poland international attacking the ball at the far post.

Ollie Watkins dithered as another great chance came Villa's way, John Stones dashing back to jostle the striker off the ball.

Jesus missed a glorious opportunity five minutes into the second half when he stabbed over from close range. The Brazilian had another shot charged down, while at the other end Watkins was denied by Ederson's sprawling save after brushing off Aymeric Laporte's challenge.

City were in deep trouble when Coutinho fired Villa two ahead in the 69th minute, fastening on to a flick-on from Watkins and rifling low into the left corner.

Gundogan gave the hosts hope when he headed fellow substitute Raheem Sterling's cross past Robin Olsen in the 76th minute, and then Rodri lashed in from the edge of the box.

Guardiola was leaping around on the touchline, the crowd anticipating a winner, just as when Sergio Aguero's late dramatics delivered the title in 2012, and it came when De Bruyne's delicious ball across goal from the right was met by Gundogan. He could hardly miss. City, from the depths of despair, are champions once more.

Liverpool were denied the Premier League title and an unprecedented quadruple on the final day of the season, despite coming from behind to beat Wolves 3-1 at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp's men trailed to an early Pedro Neto goal, before Sadio Mane equalised, with Mohamed Salah and Andrew Robertson belatedly scoring to seal three points.

With Manchester City trailing Aston Villa 2-0 while Wolves were holding Liverpool, there was hope among the home fans, but that was soon extinguished as Pep Guardiola's City came back to win 3-2 and clinch the title.

This was a disappointing blow for the Reds, although they can still win their third trophy of the season on Saturday when they face Real Madrid in the Champions League final in Paris.

Chelsea finished their Premier League campaign with an unexpectedly dramatic 2-1 win over relegated Watford.

Already secure of third place having long since seen any chance of a title challenge fade, Chelsea had little to play for on the final day.

Kai Havertz, who on another day would have had a hat-trick, gave Chelsea the lead with his 11th-minute effort.

Dan Gosling's late header looked to have earned Watford an unlikely point, only for Ross Barkley to respond in kind in the 91st minute to secure the points.

 

Manchester United will be playing Europa League football next season despite Wilfried Zaha scoring in a 1-0 win for Crystal Palace over the Red Devils in the Premier League.

Incoming United boss Erik ten Hag was in attendance at Selhurst Park as Zaha punished a languid first-half showing by Ralf Rangnick's side to put Palace in front.

United, without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, could not find a breakthrough in the second half as they fell to a sixth straight away league defeat.

However, West Ham were defeated by Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday, which kept United in sixth despite the Red Devils finishing the term with a club record-low Premier League points tally.

Edinson Cavani, playing in his final game for United, almost wrongfooted Vicente Guaita with a volley after 14 minutes, but the Spaniard readjusted to parry away.

David de Gea showed quick reflexes to thwart low drives from Zaha and Jeffrey Schlupp, but the United goalkeeper had no response shortly after when the Ivory Coast international drilled into the bottom-left corner.

Bruno Fernandes tamely curled a free-kick into Guaita's hands after the interval, while Conor Gallagher dragged a presentable opportunity wide at the other end.

Anthony Elanga sliced wide from Juan Mata's cutback as United searched for a late equaliser, although a belated offside flag against the Spaniard spared the Sweden international's blushes.

United continued pressing forward but Palace held firm for a fifth consecutive top-flight home clean sheet for just the second time in history.

Son Heung-min scored twice as Tottenham sealed their place in next season's Champions League with a thumping 5-0 win over Norwich City.

Antonio Conte's side went into the game knowing a draw would be enough to secure fourth spot given their far superior goal difference over fifth-placed Arsenal, but nothing less than a win looked likely after Dejan Kulusevski's early opener.

Spurs continued to dominate at Carrow Road after that and Harry Kane added a second before half-time following a howler from Tim Krul.

The impressive Kulusevski grabbed his second midway through the second half, before Son - who was chasing the golden boot - scored two excellent goals to move onto 23 goals in the top flight this season.

Kulusevski gave Spurs a deserved lead in the 16th minute, the Sweden international stroking in via a deflection off Jacob Lungi Sorensen after being teed up by Rodrigo Bentancur.

Spurs doubled their advantage in the 32nd minute when Kane headed in from eight yards from Bentancur's first-time cross following a dismal kick out by Krul.

The Norwich goalkeeper twice denied Son after the break, before Kulusevski saw a tame effort cleared off the line after he had rounded Krul. 

The on-loan Juventus forward was not to be denied in the 64th minute, though, as he whipped into Krul's top-right corner from 15 yards. 

Son stroked into Krul's bottom-left corner from Lucas Moura's clever pass in the 70th minute to make it four, with the South Korea international then curling in from 25 yards five minutes later to add further gloss to the scoreline. 

Arsenal ended their season with a 5-1 victory over Everton, but it was not enough to seal Champions League qualification.

Mike Arteta's team needed a slip-up from Tottenham at already relegated Norwich City to have any hope of sealing a top-four finish on Sunday.

Arsenal did their bit against a much-changed Everton team, Gabriel Martinelli getting things started with a 27th-minute penalty and Eddie Nketiah scoring soon after. 

Goals from Cedric Soares and Gabriel Magalhaes followed, after Donny van de Beek netted his first Everton goal on what is likely to be his final appearance, but Spurs' easy 5-0 win at Carrow Road rendered Arsenal's efforts meaningless as they finished fifth, in a Europa League spot, with Martin Odegaard simply adding further gloss late on.

Arsenal dominated from the off, having four shots in the opening 10 minutes before Martinelli struck straight at Asmir Begovic.

Everton's resolve was punctured when former Arsenal man Alex Iwobi was penalised by VAR for blocking a shot with his upper arm – Martinelli drilling in the resulting spot-kick.

Arsenal's dominance profited a second four minutes later, with Everton's set-piece frailties exposed as Nketiah nodded in from a corner.

Bukayo Saka shot wide at the end of a counter and the Gunners were punished for not putting the game beyond doubt when substitute Van de Beek tapped home after fantastic work from reported Arsenal target Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Arsenal restored their two-goal cushion 11 minutes after the restart – Everton once again switching off from a corner, with the unmarked Cedric sweeping home.

Gabriel was then allowed to ghost behind Everton's line and finish beyond Begovic, who should have done better.

Alexandre Lacazette was handed a farewell Arsenal appearance soon after, as the home fans were at least able to celebrate an emphatic season-ending win when Odegaard slotted in a fifth.

Edinson Cavani was handed a farewell start for Manchester United as Ralf Rangnick confirmed Sunday's game at Crystal Palace would be the striker's last for the club.

The 35-year-old, who is Paris Saint-Germain's all-time record scorer, joined United in October 2020 after leaving the Ligue 1 giants.

Cavani scored 10 goals in 26 Premier League games in his debut season, but he has featured only in fits and starts this term, scoring just twice in the league ahead of the clash with Palace in south London.

Interim manager Rangnick announced Cavani was the only player in his line-up at Selhurst Park who would not be with United when new boss Erik ten Hag takes the helm.

"Out of our starting XI, there will be 10, apart from Edi Cavani, who will still be playing for this club next season," Rangnick told MUTV.

Nineteen-year-old Hannibal Mejbri was included as United, who were watched from the stands by Ten Hag, wrapped up a miserable campaign.

Rangnick urged United's players to get the win that would make sure of sixth place.

"I presume they'd much rather play in the Europa League than the Conference League," Rangnick said.

Pep Guardiola said title-hunting Manchester City "don't have any alternative but to win" as he recalled Phil Foden and John Stones for the final-day Premier League clash with Aston Villa, who were without first-choice goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Leaders City came into the home game at the Etihad Stadium with a one-point advantage over Liverpool, who had an Anfield assignment against Wolves.

Jack Grealish, who played and scored in the draw with West Ham last week, dropped to the bench as Guardiola promoted Foden to form a front three with Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus.

Left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko was also a substitute as Stones came into the team in his place, joining Joao Cancelo, Aymeric Laporte and Fernandinho in City's backline. Fit-again Kyle Walker was also a full-back option on the bench for Guardiola.

For Fernandinho, it was to be his final match for City, after choosing to leave following nine years at the club.

In midfield, Premier League player of the season Kevin De Bruyne was joined by Rodri and Bernardo Silva.

Stones and Walker had been expected to miss the rest of the season, but Guardiola was able to summon both for the decisive final day.

Chasing a fourth Premier League title in five seasons, Guardiola wrote in his programme notes: "We have a job to do, and we must do it as a collective. We simply have to win. We don't have any alternative but to win."

He urged City fans to roar the team to the title, adding that such final-day moments on home turf are "a privilege and something very special".

"As a club, these situations are relatively new. Embrace it and enjoy today as much as you can," Guardiola wrote. "I have the feeling every year that winning the Premier League is harder. We have consistently been there fighting to win it, which says everything about the mentality and quality of my players."

Villa, significantly, were without Martinez with Villa boss and Liverpool great Steven Gerrard citing a knee injury for his absence. His absence meant Robin Olsen, on loan from Roma, was handed a debut in place of the former Arsenal man.

The visitors' line-up also included another former Anfield favourite in the form of Philippe Coutinho.

Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk have been named among the substitutes for Liverpool's final game of the Premier League season against Wolves at Anfield.

The Reds need to win and hope Manchester City drop points against Aston Villa in order to win the title on the final day – otherwise Pep Guardiola's men will be champions once again.

Divock Origi misses out with a muscle injury in what would have been his final home appearance for Liverpool, with the striker leaving the club at the end of the season, reportedly on his way to Milan.

Salah and Van Dijk both suffered injuries in last week's FA Cup final win against Chelsea, although manager Jurgen Klopp indicated his confidence that both would be fit for next week's Champions League final against Real Madrid.

Klopp said on Friday both would be in contention against Wolves, along with Fabinho, but none of the trio make the starting XI. Fabinho, injured at Aston Villa before the cup final, misses out completely.

Ibrahima Konate and Joel Matip continue to pair up in defence, while Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara and Naby Keita make up the three-man midfield. James Milner – out of contract as things stand – is on the bench.

Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane start in attack, with Liverpool looking to end the season undefeated at home.

With Son Heung-min only a goal behind Salah in the Golden Boot race, Liverpool's talisman will hope to appear at some stage.

Ralf Rangnick acknowledges Cristiano Ronaldo is "not a pressing monster", as he admitted compromising on his preferred style of play during an underwhelming six months as Manchester United's interim manager.

Rangnick will take charge of his final United game at Crystal Palace on Sunday before moving into a consultancy role with the club, while reports suggest Ronaldo will not feature at Selhurst Park after suffering a hip flexor issue. 

The 37-year-old has scored 18 Premier League goals since returning to Old Trafford at the beginning of the campaign. Despite United enduring a woeful season under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Rangnick, that represents his second-most prolific campaign in the competition after 2007-08 (when he scored 31 times as the Red Devils won the title.)

However, several commentators have pointed out the Portuguese striker's lack of off-the-ball work is an awkward fit with Rangnick's preferred high-intensity pressing style.

United rank just 12th among Premier League sides for possessions won in the final third this term, with 162, some way short of Liverpool (278), and Manchester City (231), the two highest-pressing sides in the division.

The Red Devils also rank 12th for possessions won in the middle third of the pitch, with 851, with Rangnick struggling to instil a high-octane style at Old Trafford.

While praising Ronaldo for his goalscoring prowess, Rangnick acknowledged that pressing has never been Ronaldo's forte, hinting he may have made too many compromises on his coaching style during his time in charge. 

"Cristiano Ronaldo, and I'm not blaming him at all, he did great in those games. But he's not a pressing monster," Rangnick told a press conference ahead of the trip to Palace.

"He's not a player, even when he was a young player, who was crying, shouting, 'hooray, the other team has got the ball, where can we win balls?'

"The same with quite a few other players, so we had to make some compromises at one stage, maybe we made a few too many – that's also possible."

Rangnick has also been critical of United's lack of January transfer activity in the past, revealing this month that the club's board overruled his desire to sign another striker in January.

Earlier this month, the former RB Leipzig boss said: "I spoke to the board and said: 'shouldn't we at least speak and try and analyse if we could get a player either on loan or as a permanent deal?' But in the end the answer was no."

However, as Rangnick prepares to make way for Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, he reassured United's fanbase that they can expect arrivals in the upcoming transfer window.

"We spoke about the last transfer window in January where we and the board decided not to sign any players, but this is different now," Rangnick added.

"In this summer window there will be some new players and Erik will also have some influence on which kind of player he wants.

"That will happen in this window and hopefully the next two windows, and I think it's obvious to everybody, for the owners, the board, and every supporter, we need to increase and raise the level of quality within the squad."

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