Manchester United's 4-1 hammering at the hands of Manchester City on Sunday proves that the Red Devils "have a long way to go" to catch up to their rivals, interim manager Ralf Rangnick said.
United were outclassed by Pep Guardiola's side as Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez scored two goals each to overcome Jadon Sancho's goal for the visitors.
Rangnick was pleased with his side's start to the match, but feels the difference in quality between the two sides was on show throughout.
What has been said?
He said to Sky Sports: "I think we played a good, if not decent first half. We were competitive. Difficult to concede an early goal.
"We came back, scored a brilliant goal ourselves then conceded another on the counter. It was a very difficult game against one of the best teams in the world.
Next Match
"We conceded a fourth in the last minute of the game. It is a difficult game that shows we have a long way to go to close that gap.
"It was working. For us it was clear if we want a chance to win the game we have to do a lot of running.
"You have to be in attacking and hunting mode and we did that in the first half. The third goal killed us off in the end.
"It's difficult, if we attack them very high there is a lot of negative running you need to do. The third goal is a brilliantly taken corner and it is almost impossible to defend that.
"The second half they were the better team and they showed the quality they have. We struggled especially after they scored the third one."
United drop out of Premier League top four
The Red Devils have dropped to fifth place following Sunday's defeat and Arsenal's win against Watford.
United are one point behind the Gunners and Rangnick stressed the upcoming match against Tottenham is a must-win.
"We are fully aware we need to win games," he said.
"This is one of the most difficult. It is accepting they were the better team today. But we look ahead to the next games and we need to win the next two home games - they are essential to us."
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