Every criticism from six Man Utd legends after 3-0 Man City loss: Neville, Keane, Schmeichel…

Manchester United lost their third game of the season on Sunday as rivals Manchester City beat them 3-0 in a comprehensive performance.

United had more of the ball, but City’s superior attack was able to break down their rivals time and time again.

For many pundits, the signs are ominous for United and their manager, Ruben Amorim.

But the criticisms heard loudest at Old Trafford will be the ones from their former sons – legends who were so used to success but now have to watch failure more often than not.

We have looked into what six United legends have said about the performance against City.

Gary Neville

Neville has perhaps had the most to say on Sky Sports throughout Amorim’s tenure at United, and while he’s at times been strong in both his support and criticism, what followed the loss was neither.

“I think there will be some pressure applied to the manager and his rigidity of sticking with the system,” Neville said.

“City have beaten them well and comfortably. United had some good moments in the game – the first 15 minutes and the first five minutes of the second half. City, in big moments, have had better players. [Phil] Foden, [Jeremy] Doku, [Erling] Haaland have stood out.

“There have been times when I have seen United lose this type of match when I feel angry and frustrated. I just feel nothing, which is even worse.”

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Roy Keane

Keane feels the players may no longer be on Amorim’s side after a performance devoid of quality.

He said on Sky Sports: “My worry is maybe the players haven’t got that much faith in it. As much as the manager is saying ‘this is where we are going’, as the results don’t come and you are getting beaten by the better teams, he is making loads of changes. It is like they are going round in circles.

“We gave him the benefit of the doubt when he first came in. You talk about the system but the manager is sticking to his guns, he is not budging. You look at the results and the points per game, goals for and against. It is not good reading. It does concern me.”

Paul Scholes

Scholes similarly feels that the United side do not have the players to be able to overcome the quality of teams like City.

“I don’t think the quality is there,” he told the Monday Night Club.

“Whatever two out of the four or five they have got in [midfield] – Casemiro, Bruno [Fernandes], [Kobbie] Mainoo – whatever combination he seems to try doesn’t seem to work.

“That’s a big issue. I thought all summer the absolute priority was a centre-midfield player with legs, who can play and can control a game.

“Goalkeeper was [also] a major issue. Did they really need to get to the Grimsby game to realise [Andre] Onana is not good enough?

“If Manchester United were not in the market for Gianluigi Donnarumma when he became available, that is a criminal offence.

“The recruitment side went to buy forwards. That did need addressing, but did it need three of them? I’m not sure it did.”

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Wayne Rooney

Rooney felt the fans having seen enough to walk out before the final whistle against City was not a good sign for the future.

“There was an image towards the end of the game, where I was seeing the Man Utd fans leaving. I’ve never seen that,” he said on the Wayne Rooney Show.

“In my time, I’ve never seen Man Utd fans leaving and you could hear the fans singing Amorim’s name, but I think that is so powerful that the Man Utd fans were leaving the game because they knew the game is over and I think there were very disappointed in what they’ve seen. So it’s hard to see how it continues.”

Rooney is also in agreement with fellow legend Rio Ferdinand about things not being up to scratch.

“I was speaking with Rio yesterday on this. We want to support the team and the manager as best we can, but we also have to be honest as well because the fans are not fools and we also have to give our honest opinion on what we’re seeing.

“That does put us in uncomfortable positions at times. Rio was out with the team in Chicago during pre-season; I go into the training ground quite a lot with my children.

“It does put us in an uncomfortable position, but we have to be honest about what we’re seeing. Frankly, it’s just not good enough.”

Peter Schmeichel

Schmeichel felt the performance showed that the signing of Benjamin Sesko – who is yet to score for United – was unnecessary.

“In terms of players being brought in, Cunha for instance, I think in the three games he’s played – he came out very early in the game against Burnley – yes, I’ve seen things that can happen in the future, something we can build on.

“Bryan Mbeumo, the same thing, yes, it’s really good. That’s kind of progress in terms of how the team is going to be developed.

“At the moment I don’t see it. The issue is, it was so clear all of last season, has not been addressed.

“Yes, we didn’t score enough goals so they bought players in who can score goals but they spent the money on the third one – it’s nothing personal against Sesko – but we didn’t need the third striker, we needed a centre-midfield player who can control that bit of the pitch, and we needed a goalkeeper.

“Those were the issues we were struggling with last season and it’s not been addressed.”

Rio Ferdinand

Ferdinand has similar worries about Sesko’s time at United.

“The one I’m worried about is Sesko. He ain’t getting no chances, he ain’t getting no opportunities, there’s nothing created for him.

“That’s the concern. A new striker comes in the football club, gets in the team, you’ve got to think about creating chances for him.

“Getting him on the end of things. He’s got to think about getting on the end of things. That’s something I think has got to be looked at, and fixed quick. I don’t want to think about what it could turn out to be.”

He added: “It’s depressing watching United like that. The way we allowed them to get in and get goals and get opportunities – it was weak, it was powderpuff, it just lacked anything.

“I thought in the first-half, we pressed them quite well, and we had possession at times, got in the final third, and there was zero creativity. Without Bruno you’re looking at it going, who else is going to create something? Mbeumo? But there’s no real guile.

“Defensively, I thought that was the most concerning thing. I’ve been quite complimentary about the defenders and the way we’ve defended it at times this season, but I thought it was like a hot knife through butter. it was too easy.”

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