Ian Wright names ‘promising’ Man Utd duo Ten Hag should be excited about, as Keane details major concern

Ian Wright has praised Amad Diallo and one of his Manchester United team-mates after Erik ten Hag’s side narrowly lost the Community Shield to rivals Manchester City, while Roy Keane has discussed a big worry about the squad.

Man Utd performed well in the Wembley clash, stopping Man City from dominating and also creating a number of great chances for themselves. Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay both missed fantastic opportunities for the Red Devils, while Bruno Fernandes had a stunning 20-yard strike ruled out for offside in the second half.

After setting up Rashford for a one-on-one against Ederson, which the English winger missed, Alejandro Garnacho took the game by the scruff of the neck in the 82nd minute by cutting inside on his left foot and picking out the bottom corner to put his team 1-0 up.

But Man Utd could not hold on for the victory as Bernardo Silva rose above Facundo Pellistri at the back post and headed home in the 89th minute following great work by Oscar Bobb.

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The penalty shoot-out that followed eventually went to sudden death. Veteran Man Utd defender Jonny Evans was the first one to miss as he sent his spot-kick way over the bar, which allowed Manuel Akanji to step up and score, giving City their first Community Shield win since 2019.

Arsenal hero Wright praised Man Utd for their performance and picked out Amad and Diogo Dalot as two exciting players for the 2024-25 campaign.

“I thought Man Utd did well with the chances they created, maybe should have scored a couple. Man Utd should be happy with the way they played today,” he said.

“You look at this Man Utd side, especially down the right-hand side, with Dalot and Amad, that looks quite promising.”

Man Utd latest: Ian Wright, Roy Keane provide verdicts

Fellow pundit Keane explained how Man Utd simply have to keep their top stars fit if they are to get anywhere near challenging for the Premier League title.

“The key, particularly for their best players, is keeping them fit. The United squad’s pretty strong really, the problem is they seem to pick up a lot of injuries, a lot of serious injuries,” Man Utd’s former captain said.

“So they’ve got to get on top of that. I know there’s been changes to the backroom with the medical team. [If] they keep all their players fit or most of them, I’d be pretty upbeat for the start of the season.”

Wright added: “That’s the thing with Ten Hag. He’s capable of winning the cups, he himself has mentioned he just wants to get more consistent in the league.

“I think 66 injuries. Like you said Roy, they’ve changed the backroom staff and the medical side, that [66 injuries] is too many.

“If they can keep those players fit, with [Matthijs] de Ligt coming in, [Luke] Shaw coming back to fitness, you can start to see things happening at United.”

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