Man City exposed a weakness in Manchester United, according to Roy Keane and Micah Richards.
Erik ten Hag has been informed of Manchester United's vulnerability following their embarrassing 6-3 derby defeat to bitter rivals City, with Roy Keane and Micah Richards concurring.In the aftermath of Manchester United's 6-3 derby day humiliation, Roy Keane and Micah Richards both took aim at the club's hapless midfield.
Scott McTominay, Christian Eriksen, and Bruno Fernandes all struggled for Manchester United, allowing bitter rivals City to cut through them at will and ensure Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scored hat-tricks for Pep Guardiola's side. And, just like on the Etihad Stadium pitch, the under-par trio had nowhere to hide during Keane and Richards' scathing post-match analysis.
When asked about City's half-dozen goals on Sunday, former Etihad defender Richards told Sky Sports: "The gameplan we thought they were a counter-attacking team, when [Kevin] De Bruyne got the ball deep, their midfielders were all over him."
"Man United normally go deep and counter, but in the middle of the park, they tried to go man-versus-man, and all it allowed was [Bernardo] Silva, De Bruyne, and [Ilkay] Gundogan to run forward, creating space for Haaland. It was extremely naive."
If that wasn't enough, ex-United captain Keane repeatedly attacked Erik ten Hag's midfield. "You still have to have a little bit of heart for all of City's quality," the Irish pundit began. "We highlighted the first goal - it's five to ten minutes into the game, they haven't worn them out with their passing, it's early in the game, and there's no aggression.
"If you drop off the people, you must close them down.
the caliber of the players Man City, you're in big trouble. Haaland and Foden were fantastic, but if they're getting service from De Bruyne and you're giving them time and space, you're going to be in trouble. That is correct. It's tough for Manchester United because when they're not at their best, they get hammered by their rivals.
"Wonderful for Man City, fantastic, two players getting interviewed - hat-tricks - but Man United should be embarrassed again," Keane said. "They were overrun in midfield and defensively all over the place. There was no leadership from Manchester United."
Richards continued by reiterating his point. "I said before the game that the midfield would be crucial, but United simply couldn't deal with them," the 13-cap England international added. "Silva, De Bruyne, Gundogan ran the game, Foden ran off the lines, Haaland ran in behind, everything clicked," said Silva.
Eriksen appears to have been fully aware of the Red Devils' flaws as well, admitting in his post-match interview: "It came very heavy. Everyone agrees that it was a terrible day at work. We got off on the wrong foot. They had chances right away. We can only blame ourselves.
"We lacked the courage to play out from the back and allowed them to be at their best." The primary focus of this game will be on ourselves. There are many things we need to change and improve. Today was far from acceptable in comparison to what we should be doing."
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