Tough times ahead for Solskjaer as Neville points finger at ‘lazy’ Man Utd stars

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Cristiano Ronaldo, Man Utd

Gary Neville feels a number of Manchester United players need to take a long hard look at themselves and ask if they are doing enough to help the side achieve their aims.

The Red Devils suffered their second Premier League defeat in three games on Saturday after going down 4-2 to Leicester City. Losing to the Foxes is no disgrace but the manner in which they capitulated will worry club chiefs. It was 2-2 with seven minutes left but Jamie Vardy nudged the hosts ahead before Patson Daka bagged the fourth.

United started the season in superb form, with four wins and a draw in five games. The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo seemed to be the icing on the cake.

But they have struggled since a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on September 25. Neville has observed the side’s ups and downs this term with a keen eye.

And the former United defender pulled no punches in his assessment of the current state of affairs.

“The performances have been so shoddy all season, team performances, been some great goals but the overall performances have been, the units have been shoddy,” he said, per The Mirror.

“It’s been scrappy and scruffy to watch, so when you play against a team that’s got an organisation to them, a methodology, you’re going to get pulled apart and that’s what happening.

“Manchester United at this moment in time are imbalanced and the performances are now getting what they deserve in terms of results and it needs to change.”

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Neville points to United ‘conundrum’

There is no question that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a wealth of attacking talent at his disposal. Jadon Sancho was a big money summer signing while Ronaldo’s return grabbed most of the headlines.

Going forward appears to be no problem. But it is when they do not have the ball that the ex-England defender is concerned with the personnel.

“Manchester United off the ball aren’t good enough,” Neville continued. “They’ve got this conundrum with [Paul] Pogba and [Bruno] Fernandes.

“They’ve got this conundrum with [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Edinson] Cavani, conundrum with [Mason] Greenwood and [Marcus] Rashford and [Jadon] Sancho and you’ve got all these talented players into a unit, out of possession and those players strengths aren’t out of possession.

“The great players are able to do it both ways. But those players are biased to the attacking side of the game, they just are.”

Neville was asked if Solskjaer needed to add new faces to his ranks. But the Sky Sports pundit feels it is the mindset and not the players that needs changing.

Man Utd striker Cristiano Ronaldo looking disappointed 2021

“No they don’t, what they need is to have the work ethic of [ Manchester City ‘s] Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne, [ Liverpool ‘s Roberto] Firmino and [Sadio] Mane, players who are world class, who work like absolute dogs every single game,” he added.

“I don’t see that at Manchester United with some of their talented players.”

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