Gary Neville: What Man Utd must learn from City defeat

Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City has left Gary Neville questioning both the team’s structure and their progress under Ruben Amorim. Speaking after the Manchester derby, Neville described United’s performance as “a nothing” and warned that problems in midfield, defence and system selection are beginning to pile up.

Man Utd Identity Under Scrutiny

Neville was clear that Amorim’s tactical approach has not yet taken hold in the way supporters hoped. “The system is the system, and United fans will like it or they won’t like it, but Amorim’s not going to change,” he said. “He’s going to die in his own ditch if he’s going to die in terms of losing his job.”

The former United captain highlighted the manager’s persistent use of a back three, even when chasing games. “He’s always changing his back three, always. It seems in every single match. Yoro comes off or someone else comes off and then it just doesn’t seem to get any better changing the back three. I always think you need stability in your back line.”

Neville also criticised the use of players in unfamiliar roles. “Even at Grimsby away, you had Mason Mount at left wing-back. Well, that’s just not right,” he added.

Photo: IMAGO

Midfield Concerns Repeated

The midfield, Neville insisted, is United’s most pressing weakness. Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte again struggled to control the game. “Ugarte’s not good enough and Bruno’s not a player who plays in a deep-lying midfield in a two,” he explained. “You can maybe bring him a bit deeper at home when United are dominating possession, but against any team with good players, Bruno is always going to struggle in a midfield two.”

Neville warned this issue creates a recurring pattern. “When the game opens up or players get a little bit more fatigued or United go one-nil down, they end up then chasing it. The front three stay a little bit higher and those spaces start to appear in midfield, and Bruno starts to get pulled around a little bit.”

While he stressed Fernandes remains United’s best player, Neville admitted the system “either has to have him as one of a two in midfield or one of a front three – and he’s neither of those two positions.”

Pressure On Amorim Growing

United now sit 14th in the Premier League table. Neville didn’t hold back on what that means. “Ruben Amorim is going to come under big pressure. Manchester United are 14th in the league. It’s only a few games in, but next week if Manchester United lose and they go to 15th or 16th, before you know it you’re in October and Manchester United are in the bottom half of the table. They couldn’t be having spent £200 million and given him a pre-season.”

Despite the severity of the result, Neville doesn’t believe the squad has turned against the new coach. “I’m not suggesting the players have downed tools on him – they’ve not – but they’re struggling. They’re struggling against Burnley, they’re struggling against Fulham, they struggled at Grimsby, they struggled here today. They’re struggling to find rhythm, to find tempo, to find performance levels.”

He pointed to the looming clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford as decisive. “They have to come out of the blocks next Saturday night against Chelsea. The atmosphere will be fantastic for 10-15 minutes. United have got a free week to prepare. They should have more energy, more legs. They have to go for it. They have to be really lightning quick out of the blocks next Saturday night because it’s a really important match.”

United’s flaws were further exposed by City’s dominance. Erling Haaland scored twice and produced a complete performance that Neville described as “absolutely brilliant.” City’s spine, with Haaland, Rodri and Dias, remains formidable.

While Neville insisted this is “not the Manchester City of two or three years ago,” he admitted that their world-class forward line is a decisive factor. “They have an unbelievable centre forward who can destroy teams,” he said, contrasting sharply with United’s uncertainty in attack and midfield.

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