Gary Neville has criticised Manchester United midfield duo Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo, saying he has 'seen enough' following the 1-1 draw with Tottenham. The pundit also told the rest of the squad to 'get a grip' after the result at Old Trafford.
United held by 10-man Spurs
United returned from the extended international break by hosting Spurs, who were bottom of the table going into the game. The visitors had chances to take the lead despite their poor form. United went 1-0 up in the second half through Bryan Mbeumo, and 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 were unable 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.
Neville's verdict
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."
Warning ahead of Real Madrid clash
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 busy 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.
