Neville and Keane accuse United of ‘throwing in the towel

Former Manchester United captains Gary Neville and Roy Keane accused Ralf Rangnick’s team of giving up in Sunday’s 4-1 derby defeat at Manchester City.

United had competed well in the first half, going in 2-1 down at the break, but they looked demoralised after Riyad Mahrez scored City’s third and that attitude riled the two ex-skippers.

“Manchester United’s response to going 3-1 down has been embarrassing. Ninety-two percent possession for City? They have given up,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

“They are walking around the pitch. It’s nowhere near good enough. There can be no complaints. City have been absolutely outstanding. But as a Manchester United fan, it’s embarrassing.

“The scoreline isn’t the problem. It’s the response to going 3-1 down that’s the problem. They have thrown the towel in,” Neville said. “At the end of the game, Manchester United finished like an absolute shower. They were a disgrace in the last 25 minutes.”

Fellow pundit Keane focused his criticism on the players rather than Rangnick’s decision to play with midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba in attack.

“The manager will be criticised about his tactics, but players not running back when you’re playing for Man United is really unacceptable,” he said. “They threw the towel in, which is shameful. You need character and personality when you’re up against it and after the third goal, it was game over.”

It was only the second defeat in the Premier League for Rangnick since taking over after the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but Neville said United’s recent results had been hiding the reality of their squad’s level.

“For the past two to three months, United have been plastering over the wounds, playing against sides that you don’t have to be at your best to get a result. The only two teams they’ve played from the top eight, City and Wolves, have done them — and there’s a few tough games coming up,” he said.

“The dressing room isn’t broken, but it isn’t far off. The evidence is there. You find out what it’s like when the going gets tough and a lot of them went missing,” he said.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his team’s display showed they remain as hungry for success despite their trophy-filled seasons under the Spanish coach.

“I said many times the biggest form of success for a manager is that after winning three Premier Leagues in the past four years, we still run like we run and we are still there to win again.

“You can get confused and think you are what you are not. Still we are humble enough to do it again and again and be up there,” he said, adding that “these guys have been there for many years”.

Guardiola said the latest battle for the title with Liverpool, who are six points behind leaders City and have a game in hand, was another struggle in a memorable duel.

“We have the toughest opponent I have ever faced in my career as a manager. Fighting with them [Liverpool] and being with them for trophies and titles, it is the biggest achievement of my career,” he said.

“The second half was one of the highest levels we have played at in years,” he said. “I am so demanding, but I know my limits and I know the players’ limits and the second half, in all terms, the display was everything.”

Manchester United interim manager Rangnick rejected any suggestion that there was more to Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence from his team for Sunday’s 4-1 defeat than a hip injury.

Keane had questioned how genuine the injury was during the Sky Sports broadcast of the derby, saying: “We talk about Ronaldo being some sort of machine, he’s rarely injured and then every now and again he comes out and says hip flexor. It doesn’t add up to me.”

Keane made similar comments after the game and Rangnick was asked in his news conference to respond.

“The doctor came to see me on Friday and told me Cristiano cannot train due to a problem with his hip flexor and the same was true on Saturday and that’s why he couldn’t be part of the squad,” Rangnick said. “If players tell the medical department that they are injured and they cannot play, I have to accept it.”

United were also without their Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani due to injury but Rangnick said he had been fit enough to train.

“Edi trained in the last three days. He trained well but he still felt after those three training sessions yesterday afternoon that he is still not fit to play. As a manager, I cannot force a player if he does not feel fit enough or well enough to play,” said the German.

United have slipped out of the top four after their loss and Arsenal’s 3-2 win over Watford left them a point behind the Gunners, having played three games more. Rangnick said there was little room for error.

“I didn’t actually expect Arsenal to lose at Watford so for us it’s clear. If we still want to have a chance to finish fourth at the end of the season, we cannot drop any more points,” he said.

Reuters