Roy Keane takes sarcastic dig at Ruud van Nistelrooy following Manchester United draw

Roy Keane has taken a sarcastic dig at Ruud van Nistelrooy following Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea in the Premier League.

Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first Premier League match in charge of Manchester United ended in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday night at Old Trafford.

The first half was relatively cautious, with both teams testing the waters but each coming close, hitting the post once.

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The second half brought more intensity. United took the lead when Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty after Rasmus Højlund was fouled, set up by a superb Casemiro cross.

Chelsea, however, quickly responded, with Moisés Caicedo firing a brilliant strike from the edge of the box. Both sides pushed for a decisive goal, but ultimately, they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Van Nistelrooy’s comments

Speaking to Sky Sports after the result, the United’s interim boss explained that he feels the squad are a good group of players with positive team spirit, which came through in the game following a tough week after Erik ten Hag’s sacking.

“I think the players take a lot of responsibility,” Van Nistelrooy began. “They also know they needed to change, and I tried to help them, get them focused on their jobs and get the best out of them and motivate them to become the best they can.

“I can do that for two more games. It’s a good group of players, a good group of people, and I think what you saw today was a team with spirit that left everything they had on the pitch.

“You saw the connection there with the fans that then occurs, and that’s what we’re looking for. I can’t wait to build on that for Thursday.”

Keane’s sarcastic reply

However, in reply to these comments, former United captain Roy Keane chose to take a sarcastic dig at the Dutchman, saying sarcastically, “Don’t worry about the result. He said they’re great lads? That’s key.”

Keane then went on to explain that he felt his former side looked boring against Chelsea after failing to take several scoring opportunities.

“They are almost boring,” Keane explained. “They have a lack of conviction in their chances. They were so flat the fans must be disappointed. They are way off in terms of getting back to that top four and competing.

“I think it is a bit of everything. As a team, you look at certain individuals and maybe we think they are better than they are. They’ve got established internationals. United are average at everything.

“The lack of goals is still hard to believe. You look at the opportunities they are creating and missing – that is why managers lose their jobs. That’s why the goals record is what it is. It’s properly hit and miss, and more likely it is a miss. Manchester United fans must be going away today scratching their heads. It was very quiet today at Old Trafford.”

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