Neville: 'Man Utd play below school level'

Former defender Gary Neville criticized Man Utd as the worst club in the Premier League in off-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 match at Old Trafford. "Their defensive structure went from being solid to suddenly emptying out the entire midfield. Players were pressing on their own without any co-ordination. You had players standing in front of the ball for throw-ins, and the ball was thrown behind the back four."

Despite the 2-2 draw, Man Utd were still outclassed by Liverpool. The home side only had 37% possession, had 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 pitch since 2015.

Striker Luis Diaz is 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 is 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.

"Everything that you see, if you will, the easiest things in football, Man Utd did very badly," Neville continued. "You can't really coach performances like that. Man Utd just rely on individual moments, luck, goalkeepers saving 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 earn points with new boss Jim Ratcliffe, and the Dutchman needs to quickly establish a style, system and pattern of play. The former England centre-back believes Man Utd are showing bad habits such as poor structure, defensive errors and gaps in all three of their recent matches - draws with Brentford, Liverpool and loss to Chelsea. He stressed that such performances will get the manager sacked.

"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 quipped. "I don't know how strong the alcohol is, but Ten Hag is really optimistic and I admire him for that. Ten Hag sees something that I don't see 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 claim three points. "They lacked sharpness in their finishing at crucial moments," the former England defender commented. "Liverpool should have killed the game off early. Liverpool certainly dropped two points."

Jamie Redknapp shared his views and pointed out the disappointment on the faces of the 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

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