Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by 10-man Tottenham in their return to Premier League action, prompting pundits Danny Murphy and Gary Neville to agree that the club needs a change in midfield. United had taken the lead through Bryan Mbeumo in the second half, but were pegged back in stoppage time.
Match details and red card
Just five minutes after Mbeumo's goal, Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentacur was shown a straight red card for pushing his head towards Luke Shaw. Despite being a man down, Spurs found a way back into the game in the second minute of added time, with Dominic Solanke rescuing a point for his side with a header past Senne Lammens.
The result raised questions over United's ability to control a game, with the midfield of Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo singled out for criticism.
Pundits criticise midfield duo
Speaking on Match of the Day, Murphy said: "There was a lethargy about Manchester United and this midfield can't control games. It's partly tactical, it's partly personnel."
"It's not just about the two central boys, they need some help, but these are both technically gifted players who want to be on the ball going forward. Here you can see [Conor] Gallagher playing as a 10, they don't spot him in that little pocket."
He added: "Here again you can see them ball-watching, Tielemans especially, Gallagher, he hasn't looked at him once. Where is he? Where's my man? Loses him. I could have done ten of these clips, and it got worse in the second half."
Murphy continued: "I don't understand it really. Because we saw at the end of last season Manchester United much more organised, much more difficult to play against, and it gets worse, this is legs, this is physicality. Tielemans, Mainoo, yes, they've been travelling away and playing international, well not lots of it, but travelling, that may be partly an excuse, but they're not able to do the yards on the big pitches against a three-man midfield."
He concluded: "They've got to get back to basics, being harder to beat, close the distances. Maybe you drop a forward player into midfield to create a three, a more solid three next time they play. But if they play like that against good teams, they're going to get cut right open, because that's impossible."
Neville's verdict and what's next
The comments echo those of former United full-back Neville, who said he'd 'seen enough' of the midfield duo. "Tielemans and Mainoo, I think we've seen enough of it now, not calling time on it, that's probably too drastic," he said on The Gary Neville Podcast. "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."
United don't have long to wait before they return to action. Carrick's side travel to Spain to take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday night (8pm kick-off).
