Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville expressed his disappointment with the Red Devils following their 4-0 defeat against Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday (13 August).
This was United’s second league defeat in a row after losing 2-1 to Brighton & Hove Albion in the opening game of the new campaign.
The Red Devils conceded four goals against Brentford in an error-prone first 45 minutes. Goalkeeper David De Gea made two mistakes in the opening moments of the game which resulted in the Bees running away with the match.
Neville stated that it is very easy to break down this United side. He criticized the team for underperforming despite spending heavily in the recent transfer market. The former full-back, however, does give the benefit of the doubt to Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen, who are the new arrivals at Manchester United.
Speaking on Sky Sports, the former player-turned-pundit was quoted as saying the following:
“It’s a real achievement to spend a billion pounds and be this bad. It doesn’t take much to dismantle this Manchester United team. It just takes a bit of organisation, a bit of fight, and you’re there. If you just rough them up a little bit and get a goal, they’re flaky like you wouldn’t believe.”
He added:
“We can make a judgment on the players, but Eriksen is new, Martinez is new and he found it difficult. Those other players – we’ve been telling their story for the past 12 months. I feel like we’re continually saying the same thing about the same people.”
It is worth mentioning that United have signed just three players in the summer transfer window so far. Tyrell Malacia was joined by Eriksen and Martinez prior to the start of the 2022-23 season.
However, there have been recurring issues at the club despite the arrival of a new manager in Erik ten Hag. The likes of Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford have carried their poor run of form from last season into the new one.
Manchester United take on Liverpool next in the Premier League
Manchester United will take on arch-rivals Liverpool in the Premier League on August 22 at Old Trafford. The Red Devils haven’t had the best of times against the Reds in the league recently.
Liverpool secured a 9-0 aggregate win over Manchester United over the course of two league games last time around. Jurgen Klopp’s side secured a 5-0 win at Old Trafford before beating United 4-0 at Anfield earlier this year.