Neville issues Liverpool warning to ‘dismal’ Man Utd after new ‘level of low’ for Ten Hag
Gary Neville slammed Manchester United after their “dismal” display against Brentford as it would have been a “robbery” had Erik ten Hag’s side won.
Morale at Man Utd was boosted before the international break as they beat Liverpool 4-3 at Anfield to advance in the FA Cup.
“I couldn’t believe what I was watching…”
This was a rare highlight in what’s been a disappointing season for Ten Hag‘s side and they reverted to type on Saturday evening as they faced Brentford.
Thomas Frank’s side registered over 30 shots at the Gtech Community Stadium, while Man Utd only managed 11 efforts. Despite this, Mason Mount scored his first goal for the Red Devils deep into stoppage time to put the visitors on course for an undeserved victory.
Brentford were able to salvage a point late on, though. In the 99th minute, defender Kristoffer Ajer struck to earn the relegation candidates a valuable draw.
This 1-1 draw is a blow to Man Utd’s top-four hopes as Aston Villa and Tottenham both picked up wins over the weekend. Ten Hag’s team are now 11 points adrift of the Villans and eight behind fifth-placed Spurs.
READ MORE: Ten Hag relief proves fleeting as Man Utd reverse at another ‘turning point’
Unsurprisingly, Neville was far from impressed with Man Utd’s showing against Brentford as it was a new “level of low” for Ten Hag.
“I watched them last night and couldn’t believe really what I was watching. I thought they would put a bit of pressure on Tottenham and Villa in the run-in. It’s actually really difficult to play that badly,” he said via The Gary Neville Podcast.
“I can’t explain that performance…”
“Really, it is you know. I can’t think of any point in that game, maybe the first few minutes, where they did anything well at all. It was a horrible performance to the point where when Mason Mount scored, I think we may have had to start a petition to give Brentford two points back.
“It was absolute robbery. But then Brentford score. I can’t explain that performance, I’ve no idea where it comes from. Very worrying that you can go to that level of low. You know you can play badly in football, you know you sometimes don’t feel quite right.
“But that was a dismal, dismal effort in an attempt to play football, in an attempt to work as hard as you possibly can. When you give the ball away, their reaction is non-existent. They really are one of the worst teams out of possession.”
It does not get any easier for Man Utd next weekend as they face table-toppers Liverpool at Old Trafford. Neville is wary that the hosts will be “in a lot of trouble” if Jurgen Klopp’s players “do their jobs”.
“What we’ve seen from Arsenal today, the levels of defending compactness, the work ethic of all the front players to be a cohesive unit and defend together, there’s none of that,” Neville added.
“I’m not saying the defenders or midfield players are blameless because they could do a lot better themselves. But there’s just not a unity at all. There’s no idea of how to defend or how to play without the ball.
“Just worrying signs really that you can get to that level of low in a performance. You think back to before the international break and where Manchester United were at. They had one of the most incredible moments and should be absolutely bouncing into Brentford.
“But then we saw what we saw. They won’t be that bad next week, they can’t be that bad. But if Liverpool do their jobs next week then Manchester United are going to be in a lot of trouble. There will be something different, it can’t get any worse.”
