Manchester United had to settle for a point against 10-man Tottenham with fans making their feelings clear at full-time
Former Manchester United full-back Gary Neville has ‘seen enough’ of Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo in midfield, as he tells the players to ‘get a grip. United again had to settle for a 1-1 draw against bottom-of-the-table Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.
After seeing off some pressure, United took the lead in the 73rd minute through Bryan Mbeumo. Just five minutes later, Spurs were reduced to 10 men when Rodrigo Bentancur was sent off after an altercation with Luke Shaw.
Despite the man advantage, and Tottenham’s poor start to the season, United were unable to hold on to take all three points from the game. Dominic Solanke’s header in the 92nd minute was enough to earn an unlikely point for Spurs.
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The full-time whistle was met with boos from some sections of the Old Trafford crowd. The result means that United have won just one of their Premier League games so far this season, and are winless in their last four.
It was a performance that left Neville unimpressed. Speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, he outlined where it went wrong for United. “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 sent a clear warning ahead of the midweek Champions League encounter vs Real Madrid, and picked out two United players in particular. “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 pointed out an observation of 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.”