Manchester United legend Gary Neville has criticised the Red Devils' 'mad' style of play after a wild 2-2 draw against Liverpool.
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Man Utd draw against LiverpoolTook lead thanks to surprise goalsNeville criticises Man Utd's level of playGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
Two wonder goals from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo gave Manchester United the lead against league leaders Liverpool after Luis Diaz put the Reds ahead in the 26th minute. However, a poor challenge by Aaron Wan-Bissaka gave Jurgen Klopp's men a penalty and Mohamed Salah tucked it in to have the points shared between the two rivals. Despite the surprise point against Klopp's in-form side, Neville has criticised the club's style of play and Erik Ten Hag's 'strange' tactics.
AdvertisementWHAT NEVILLE SAID
Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, the club legend said [via Sky Sports]: "Manchester United's style of play is mad. Some of the things you see out there, you wouldn't see at schoolboy level. Their structure defensively goes from being in shape and being okay to all of a sudden emptying the whole midfield. Players press on their own without the rest of their teammates going with them.
"You have players in front of the ball at throw-ins and the ball gets thrown in behind towards the back four. All of the things that you see as, if you like, the easiest things in football to do, Manchester United do really badly. They are so easy to play against. Liverpool had 15 shots in that first half.
"You can't really coach that type of performance. You are just relying on individual moments, luck, goalkeepers making saves and defenders making blocks. That's what we've seen from them against Liverpool. I don't think it is any lack of endeavour. There is no lack of desire in the team. There's just no sense to their actual performance levels."
Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE
In reality, the scoreline did not reflect the true nature of the clash, as Liverpool dominated the Red Devils throughout the entirety of the game but went down due to a defensive mistake by Jarell Quansah and a wonder strike by Mainoo. Klopp has had Ten Hag's number this season as Liverpool managed to have a total of 62 shots against Man Utd in their two Premier League clashes this campaign, as per OptaJoe.
WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?
The Red Devils slipped further away from the Champions League spot as Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur sit 11 points ahead in the Premier League standings. They will be in action against Bournemouth on Saturday, April 13.