Kevin De Bruyne said Manchester United's difficulties in adjusting to Ralf Rangnick's pressing style might have contributed to the view that they threw in the towel towards the end of the derby defeat to Manchester City.

United were accused by Sky Sports pundits and ex-United stars Gary Neville and Roy Keane of giving up during the final stages of the 4-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

- Soccer on ESPN+: FC Daily | Futbol Americas
- Don't have ESPN? Get instant access

But while De Bruyne said he can understand the criticism, the midfielder also defended United's players after they were forced to change the way they play following Rangnick's appointment to replace Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in December.

"It's difficult to say [whether United gave up], when you play a pressing style it's very hard to adjust to it so maybe it seemed like they did give up a little," De Bruyne, who scored twice in the first half before Riyad Mahrez added a brace in the second, said.

"It's very hard to do it for 90 minutes as a team.

"First half it was a bit more difficult, they pressed us a bit higher than they normally do but in the second half we found the spaces where we needed to be.

"I was watching the last 10 minutes and it felt like they were a little bit out, so the spaces got a bit bigger. I wouldn't necessarily say that they gave up, it's hard to say that."

The result keeps City six points ahead of Liverpool in the race for the title although Jurgen Klopp's side have a game in hand.

De Bruyne watched the second half of Liverpool's narrow win over West Ham on Saturday which temporarily closed the gap to three points and said the two teams are bringing the best out of each other.

"It never stops, but it's good," he said. "We push each other to be the best version we can be. All we can do as a team and as individuals we can only try to win every game. Hopefully in the end we'll win it but there's still a long way to go.

"On Saturday I was at home so I saw the second half [of Liverpool vs. West Ham]. In the end we need to concentrate on what we do.

We have an eye on them but it's what it is and we just do what we have to do."

City know that if they win all their remaining 10 games they will be crowned champions for the fourth time in five years but Liverpool still have to visit the Etihad on April 10 in what is set up to be a crucial fixture.

"It's so far away, there's a lot of important games in between," De Bruyne said. "A lot can change between now and then, we can lose games or they can. So I'm not necessarily watching out now for that game.

"Both teams have been doing so well, but we push each other. We're both great teams."