Gary Neville criticized one moment in particular during Manchester United’s 1-0 loss to Everton in the Premier League on Monday night.
Gary Neville criticized Manchester United’s performance in the 1-0 defeat to Everton, which brought their unbeaten run to an abrupt halt. Keiynan Dewsbury-Hall scored the only goal of the game as United suffered their fourth defeat in the Premier League this season.
The match will be remembered for an incident in the first half, when Idrissa Gueye appeared to slap Everton teammate Michael Keane. As a result, the Toffees were reduced to 10 men for the majority of the match.
Despite having a numerical advantage, United were unable to take advantage of it and suffered their first league defeat since 27 September against Brentford.
Ruben Amorim and his team are currently preparing for this weekend’s Premier League game against Crystal Palace and will be keen to bounce back with a win.
According to the Manchester Evening News, Neville, who was commentating on Sky Sports during United’s defeat to Everton, expressed dissatisfaction with his former club’s tactical approach after Everton’s red card.
The former United star also criticized Luke Shaw’s performance in the second half as United desperately sought an equaliser. Neville pointed out the disparity between the number of United defenders and the Everton players they were marking during Everton’s goal kicks.
Neville said in commentary: “There’s five defenders behind us. Why? And they couldn’t even get a header or a second ball. It’s embarrassing.”
The United legend added: “(Luke) Shaw is starting to move forward a little bit, but he’s clearly flailing forward.
“I’m just saying that because he’s been bothering me for the last 20 minutes. Look at him. He can’t do that.
“You should run forward every time. I don’t care.” What he’s doing there is a waste of time, he’s not fooling anyone. I don’t have it. ”
Neville also spoke out about referee Tony Harrington’s decision to give Gueye a red card in the first half of the game against Old Trafford.
Neville said of his red card: “It’s a combination of him and Michael Keane. It always looks unpleasant when you’re team-mates.”
“Idrissa Guyet went to Keane and he didn’t really react. He just shoved it and after that there was no big deal. No big deal. I mean, I think Jordan Pickford, to be fair to him, did a very good job[of defusing the situation].”
Former Everton manager Roberto Martinez claimed the referee had little choice but to give Gueye a red card.
“No, I was very surprised, because it takes an intense feeling,” Martinez said. “It needs to be intense, the reaction here is there are a lot of bodies in the box.
“Obviously, it’s a bit of a misunderstanding (Gueye is trying to play the ball to Keane and they’re blaming each other). It’s obviously a misunderstanding. Gueye is trying to play the ball, but that reaction here, that slap, that open hand.”
“We’ve talked about it a lot. I don’t think the referee has any other choice. The law is that an attack above the neck is a red card.”
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