‘It was obvious’ – Neville slams Carrick decision as Man Utd lose to arch-rivals Man City
Gary Neville thought Michael Carrick should have brought Benjamin Sesko on a lot earlier as Man Utd lost 1-0 to Man City on Sunday.
The Red Devils lost on Sunday as Erling Haaland scored the only goal of the game in a controversial Manchester Derby.
Referee Michael Oliver sent off Phil Foden on just 23 minutes for kicking out at Man Utd midfielder Bruno Fernandes after the Portugal international had given the Man City man a nudge to attempt to wind him up.
Haaland eventually broke the deadlock on 60 minutes to keep Man City’s perfect start to the new season going and put them level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
The goal was initially ruled out, before VAR controversially got involved to overturn the decision, and give the Citizens all three points at their arch-rivals.
When asked what Man Utd should take away from the loss to Man City, Neville said on Sky Sports: “I’d like to think that they’re not concentrating and focussing on the refereeing decisions and they’re focussing on the work they need to do on improving their performance.
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“What you don’t want to do is give football players or anybody excuses. That’s it.
“So they’ve got to go out there tomorrow, or whenever it is that they start training again, and begin to think about what happens when they go down to ten men again.’
“We can’t just run out of ideas, be complacent and not shift the ball quickly.”
Neville added: “I think Michael Carrick maybe will reflect upon the fact that he could have made changes earlier.
“When you know for 20 minutes before half-time that it’s not going your way with 11 men, I think then Sesko should have come on straightaway to be a bit more of a battering ram up top.
“It was obvious it wasn’t quite working.
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“He made the substitution eventually after 67 minutes which only left Sesko with 25 minutes so things like that will be reflected on and analysed I’m sure. That’s what they’ve got to concentrate on.”
Keane on Man Utd: ‘There’s certainly no need to panic’
Reflecting on the match and Michael Carrick’s side’s start to the season, Man Utd legend Roy Keane said: “It’s been a poor start, no doubt about it. Today was a setback but I still think the players will react,’ the iconic former United captain said.
“They’ve got a cup game during the week then they’ve got Fulham and those games are winnable on paper.
“No, there’s certainly no need to panic but obviously the real challenge for Carrick and his staff, when he got the job permanently, people wanted a good start and he’s not had that.
“No doubt there will be pressure after today’s game but I would say just keep your heads.”
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