Gary Neville rips into Man Utd as Ten Hag reaches new ‘level of low;’ Champions League hopes vanish

Gary Neville has ripped into Manchester United’s performance in their 1-1 draw against Brentford, stating it would have been a “robbery” had they won.  

The Bees dominated 90% of the game but despite having numerous great chances couldn’t find the back of the net until after Mason Mount’s goal in the 96th minute, which came against the run of play.

Erik ten Hag’s side were unable to cling on, however, as some wonderful work from in-demand Brentford striker Ivan Toney led to Kristoffer Ajer equalising three minutes later.

It was another big reality check for Man Utd fans who no doubt will have still been buzzing from their dramatic 4-3 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final.

Brentford registered over 30 shots on Andre Onana’s goal and it was baffling that they didn’t score more, while Mount’s strike was the only real positive for the Red Devils.

Unsurprisingly, Gary Neville was greatly disappointed with Man Utd’s performance and described it as a new “level of low” for Ten Hag.

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‘It’s really difficult to play that badly’

Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, the former Man Utd defender said he was in disbelief at the ‘dismal’ performance.

The result leaves Man Utd eight points adrift of Tottenham and 11 behind Aston Villa, with their hopes of Champions League qualification now practically gone.

“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,” Neville said.

“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.”

Neville predicts Man Utd thrashing by Liverpool

Things don’t get any easier for Man Utd as they face league-topping rivals Liverpool next weekend at Old Trafford and another victory against them seems almost impossible based on their draw to Brentford.

Neville predictably thinks that the hosts will be “in a lot of trouble” if Jurgen Klopp’s players “do their jobs” properly.

“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 [beating Liverpool] 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.”

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