Manager Roy Keane accused Manchester United of being “scared” to look through with a win against West Ham and called their performance “hopeless” after ruining their chances of moving up to fifth place in the Premier League.
West Ham had a late 1-1 draw at Old Trafford canceled out by Diogo Dalot’s opener with Sungutu Magassa’s 83rd-minute equalizer.
Under Ruben Amorim, United have picked up just 20 points from 27 games at Old Trafford and have won just one of their last five league games, drawing three of them, although they have been in the lead.
“Once they get a goal, you play a team in the bottom three and they let off the gas,” Keane said. “Not to take anything away from West Ham, they almost deserved the tie.
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Free to watch: Premier League highlights between Manchester United and West Ham
“You’re just putting pressure on yourself. Every time you look at this United team, they’re disappointed. They’re not clinical, they’re not mean enough to get the job done.”
“People will be scratching their heads.The moment they start to progress, if they win they will be fifth, there will be a lot of frustration.
“Show your quality. I think they were desperate in the last three or four games. It was really bad. They had a chance to get the job done and they were almost scared.”
“It’s the same old problem. If you sum up the last three or four games, we’re not good enough.
“Where is the frustration with this group of players? I have been watching the game carefully and there is a lack of quality and intensity. We scored two goals against Palace but we defended like a pub team. There are expectations at this club and we have to deal with that.”
Bruno Fernandes reveals his frustration at full-time
Keane also questioned the standards of the home side, who switched off from a set-piece and conceded the equalizer. Since the start of last season, only West Ham (17) have conceded more goals from corner kicks in the league than Manchester United (15).
“The reason you play for Man United is to deal with situations like this,” Keane added.
“If they’re worried, you’d be worried about why they’re playing Man Utd and what they’re afraid of. They’re scared of West Ham, so why?”
Neville confused by Manchester United’s explanation
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Gary Neville has shared his thoughts on Manchester United’s performance against West Ham United following their 1-1 draw, with Neville criticizing the Red Devils’ softness.
Gary Neville from Sky Sports:
“I don’t understand it. I don’t understand the lack of urgency, I don’t understand the lack of intensity. I don’t understand the slowness of the play. I don’t understand the lack of risk in the game.
“Ruben Amorim said from the beginning that he wanted more intensity. Now that I think about it, he doesn’t go back into the locker room and say, ‘Guys, let’s play slow tonight.’ He says, ‘Let’s move the ball faster, let’s run forward, let’s play with real threat and momentum.’
“It doesn’t happen on the pitch so I don’t know why it happens, I don’t understand it.
“You don’t see the real willingness to throw your whole life into the game, throw everything you have, take risks and throw forward. They’re showing us that they’re the seventh, eighth or ninth team in the league.”
Dalot: We worried too much, it’s our fault.
Defender Diogo Dalot said his team were “anxious” after taking the lead at Old Trafford and had to look at themselves after losing the lead again.
“Obviously it’s disappointing. We have to control the game more, especially at home,” he told Sky Sports.
“We can’t be this anxious. We were a little more sloppy in terms of possession. We were obviously disappointed with the draw, but we played there.
“That’s the solution we have to find. At the end of the day, we have to look at ourselves. It’s more of our fault.”
Manchester United lack real belief
Sungutu Magassa easily equalized from a corner kick seven minutes before the end.
Analysis by Laura Hunter of Sky Sports:
Manchester United’s lack of decisiveness under pressure went back even further than Thursday night. Diogo Dalot says his teammates are worried. Actually, it’s a matter of concentration level.
Ruben Amorim’s side have not kept a clean sheet in seven matches since early October. They gain a foothold in the match and then inevitably give it back. Even if they win a game, they will suffer a setback in the next game. There is no continuity here.
United dominated every attacking metric against inferior West Ham, producing a higher xG, taking more shots on target and creating three big chances, two of which were missed. He had 42 touches inside the opponent’s box. This is a surprisingly high amount if your only goal is yield.
After all, there is very little belief in this United team. After the match, Amorim lamented the lack of control in the second half and blamed the “loss of the second ball”. If you don’t compete or can’t compete for the whole 90 minutes, that’s what’s going to happen.
