Gary Neville picks out two Man Utd players and tells Michael Carrick he's 'seen enough'
· Mirror
Gary Neville has delivered his verdict on Manchester United's 1-1 draw with 10-man Tottenham at Old Trafford
Gary Neville has picked out Manchester United midfield duo of Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo for criticism, saying he's 'seen enough'. The pundit also told the rest of the squad to 'get a grip' following the 1-1 draw with Tottenham.
United returned from the extended international break by hosting Spurs, who were bottom of the table going into the game. The visitors who had chances to take the lead despite their poor form.
It was United who went 1-0 up in the second half through Bryan Mbeumo. It got even better for Michael Carrick's side just five minutes later when Rodrigo Bentancur was shown a straight red card for an incident with Luke Shaw.
Despite having the man advantage, United weren't able to hold onto the lead. Dominic Solanke headed home in stoppage time to earn Spurs a point.
The final whistle was greeted with boos from sections of the Old Trafford faithful. The outcome leaves United with just one Premier League victory to their name so far this campaign and winless in their last four outings.
It was a display that left Neville thoroughly unimpressed. Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, he pinpointed exactly where United fell short.
> "Not running enough, they're not showing enough tenacity, determination and fighting spirit. The boos tell you they are really despondent with what they are watching.
> "What we are seeing at the moment is a team that looks like they are curling up in a ball and the club, for some of them right now, is getting a bit big for them.
> "The shake of [Michael] Carrick's head will be... are they doing it for me? What's happening with that lot? Have they lost their confidence? Have they switched off? Are they going under? What is going on? Because these aren't the players I was working with last season."
The pundit issued a stark warning ahead of the midweek Champions League clash against Real Madrid, singling out two United players specifically. "Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night, if you don't show energy or enthusiasm, you'll get eaten alive there," he said.
> "They better step up, they can, they're a lot better than they showed today, Amad, Mbeumo, [Matheus] Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, far better.
> "[Youri] Tielemans and [Kobbie] Mainoo, I think we've seen enough of it now, not calling time on it, that's probably too drastic. But I've seen enough of it to think, 'that's not dynamic enough to play at this football club in the Premier League'.
> "They're both good players by the way. But sometimes they don't knit together or suit together, when [Carlos] Baleba came on that looked like a lot more energy. But the rest of them will have to get a grip."
He also highlighted a telling moment involving Carrick on the touchline. "I think Michael Carrick was too (alarmed), there was a shot we were on him for 20 seconds and there was a (head shake)," he added.
> "You could see it in the eyes, deep into the eyes where there's a (sighs). It was worrying, it was worrying.
> "The three-week break was the reset moment, this was the start of a bid period of games, eight games in 28 days, Madrid on Tuesday, Elland Road next Sunday, what I would've expected was an enthusiastic, energetic performance from minute one. Football you can draw, lose games but it's the way you lose them, draw them."
People in this story
- Michael Carrick
- Bruno Fernandes
- Gary Neville
- Luke Shaw
- Kobbie Mainoo
- Youri Tielemans
- Bryan Mbeumo
- Dominic Solanke
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