Ralf Rangnick said on Wednesday that Manchester United must face up to the reality that their top-four hopes have disappeared as they prepare to face Chelsea today without a swathe of key players.

Harry Maguire and Jadon Sancho have joined the Red Devils’ lengthy list of absentees for tonight’s EPL clash with Thomas Tuchel’s team. United are returning to Old Trafford wounded by back-to-back losses at Liverpool and Arsenal, which have all but ended any faint hopes of reaching next season’s Champions League. “I don’t think it makes sense now to still speak and speculate about the Champions League,” United interim manager Rangnick told a press conference.