After losing 3-0 to bitter rivals Manchester City, Roy Keane explained the reason behind Rúben Amorim’s side’s disappointing defeat.
Manchester United fell to their third defeat of the season as Manchester City swept aside Rúben Amorim’s men with a 3-0 win at the Etihad Stadium.
The derby began with early efforts from Benjamin Šeško and Erling Haaland, though both sides struggled to find rhythm. City eventually struck first, with Phil Foden putting the hosts ahead just before the 20-minute mark.
United pushed for a response but failed to level before the interval. After the restart, Amorim’s side showed promise, only for Haaland to double City’s lead. The striker soon added another, wrapping up the result with over 20 minutes remaining.
Bryan Mbeumo and Casemiro both had late opportunities, but neither could convert, as Guardiola’s side celebrated a dominant win on a rainy Manchester afternoon.
Keane explains why United lost
With Amorim adamant on making his trademark tactical setup work since he took over at Old Trafford, it was clear to see that he needed to have an alternate plan against City, who outplayed United in every area on the pitch.
Legendary United midfielder Roy Keane didn’t hold back when speaking on United’s performance, and explained why his former side lost the match.
He said, “United looked like a really average team. Take nothing away from City today, I bet City couldn’t believe how easy it was. I know United had a go at the end, but the game was over by then.
“Give credit to Haaland again, weight of pass lovely. The timing wasn’t quite right in the first half, but when the second goal went in, the game was over, and United fans were leaving.
You just felt it in the air that there’s no coming back. They got out of jail last year, but not today.”
United performance riddled with mistakes
While the blame could be passed over to Amorim for not changing his tactics or opting for certain players over others, the players must also take a fair share of the blame for the loss, with all three of City’s goals coming from United mistakes.
City’s opening goal saw Jérémy Doku receive the ball in space behind United’s midfield pivot of Bruno Fernandes, who failed to track his runner, and Manuel Ugarte. Doku also got past Luke Shaw far too easily, who seemingly gave up after his England teammate got past him.
Shaw must also take a good amount of blame for Haaland’s second, after he was far too easily out-muscled and out-run by the Norwegian, who went on to score with a chip over Altay Bayındır.
The third goal is the worst of the lot, as both Amorim and the players were at fault. Leny Yoro was one of the very few United players who performed well, so it would have been confusing to see him get substituted in the 62nd minute, with Harry Maguire taking his place.
Just six minutes later, Maguire, who was the last man, played the ball straight to a City player, who played Haaland clean through on goal to get his second of the game.
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