Neville: 'Man Utd play below school level'

Former defender Gary Neville criticized Man Utd as the worst club in the Premier League in off-the-ball situations, in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool in round 32 on April 7.

"The way Man Utd play is crazy. Some of the things you see on the pitch are not even schoolboy level," Neville commented after the game at Old Trafford. "Their defensive structure goes from being solid to suddenly emptying the entire midfield. Players press on their own without any synchronisation. You have players standing in front of the ball for throw-ins and the ball is thrown behind the back four."

Despite the 2-2 draw, Man Utd were still outclassed by Liverpool. The home team only had 37% possession, nine shots with five on target - compared to Liverpool's 28 and seven. The difference was clear in the first half, when Liverpool had 15 shots with four on target, while Man Utd had zero. This was the first time they had experienced this situation in the Premier League since the match against Liverpool in April 2022, and the first time on the field since 2015.

Striker Luis Diaz was tackled by Diego Dalot during Man Utd's 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the 32nd round of the Premier League at Old Trafford on April 7. Photo: Reuters — Striker Luis Diaz was tackled by Diego Dalot during Man Utd's 2-2 draw with Liverpool in the 32nd round of the Premier League at Old Trafford on April 7. Photo: *Reuters*

Liverpool have had 62 shots in total over their two Premier League meetings with Man Utd this season, with 34 at Anfield and 28 at Old Trafford. This is the highest tally by a team against a specific opponent over two legs in a season since 2003-04.

"All the things that you see, if you will, the easiest things in football, Man Utd did so poorly," Neville continued. "You can't really coach those performances. Man Utd rely on individual moments, luck, goalkeepers making saves and defenders making saves. That's what we saw from them against Liverpool. I don't think it's a lack of effort. There's no lack of desire, but the performance was just poor."

According to Neville, the final games of the season are an opportunity for Ten Hag to score points with new boss Jim Ratcliffe, and the Dutch coach needs to quickly build a style, system and a standard way of playing. The former England midfielder believes that Man Utd have bad habits such as poor structure, defensive errors and many gaps in all three recent matches - draws with Brentford, Liverpool and loss to Chelsea. He stressed that such performances will get the coach fired.

"No team in the league is as bad without the ball as Man Utd," Neville continued. "That's why Man Utd are allowing so many shots and that has to stop. It's been a strange week for Man Utd. They're a strange club. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's exciting, but it's crazy."

Man Utd's defense in a situation threatened by Szloboszlai. Photo: PA

After the match, Ten Hag said he was proud of Man Utd's performance, which angered another former player of the team - Roy Keane. "It was obvious that Ten Hag had a few drinks after the game," the Irishman sarcastically said. "I don't know how strong the alcohol is, but Ten Hag is really optimistic and I admire him for that. Ten Hag saw something that I haven't seen at the moment. Man Utd play like a mid-sized club, a small club and you don't know how they will play."

Meanwhile, Jamie Carragher said Liverpool only had themselves to blame for not being able to take the three points. "They lacked sharpness in finishing at crucial moments," commented the former England defender. "Liverpool should have finished the game early. Liverpool certainly dropped two points."

Jamie Redknapp shared his view and pointed out the disappointment on the faces of Liverpool players after the match. "Man Utd will be happy with a point, Liverpool should have been 3-0 up at half-time. They had so many chances and dominated the game," said Redknapp. "Liverpool will be angry because it was a game they had so much control of."

Hong Duy

Source link