"It was a horrible 90 minutes” - Graeme Souness slams Manchester United after being handed another ‘wake-up call’ by Manchester City
Speaking after Manchester United's poor performance in the game against Manchester City, Liverpool legend Graeme Souness lashed out at the Red Devils, calling the 2-0 loss a wake-up call.
This comes less than two weeks after Manchester United received a 5-0 battering at Old Trafford in a game in which Mohamed Salah netted a hat-trick. The recent loss against City saw Eric Bailly score an own goal that added to the Red Devils' woes.
Goal. City double their lead.
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While their city rivals performed well and played effortlessly in the final third, forcing David de Gea to make a number of saves, Manchester United were unable to give City goalkeeper Ederson much work to do.
For Graeme Souness, the game was another reminder to the Red Devils about how far they were from contending for the Premier League title. Souness also noted that the side were a country mile away from being a proper team:
"It’s a wake up call. They had a shock against Liverpool and they’ve had another one. It was a horrible 90 minutes if you’re a United player. They were not putting a mark on them. It was another reminder how far United are from there they want to be."
He added:
"City were fabulous throughout and played in a controlled manner. They worked so hard to get the ball back and were dominant. If you're in the United dressing room, it was a wake up call. They are a country mile away from being a proper team."
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Other pundits were highly critical of Manchester United's performance, with Roy Keane also lashing out at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the squad:
"They were happy to keep the ball and toyed with United. So poor. The difference in class, decision making, everything. It was men vs boys."
"United are so off it it's unbelievable. [Phil] Foden said it’s a tough place to come. It’s not. Ask Everton, ask Aston Villa, ask Liverpool. Teams are getting joy."
Souness slams Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes, says this is not professional football
Graeme Souness has also placed some of the blame for City's first goal on Red Devils key playmaker Bruno Fernandes. According to the pundit, Fernandes should have chased down Joao Cancelo to try and stop the cross, instead of just jogging:
"You’d imagine the United bench shouting at Fernandes to stop the cross, but he doesn’t. He jogs out. Sprint to him son, sprint to him. That is not professional football at the highest level. That is not the attitude to have in that. For the second goal it was the exact same."
"It’s not professional football at the highest level. I tell you what you see with the City team. Last year they were 16th for putting crosses in and this season they’re second."
United next face Watford at Vicarage Road on November 20th after the international break.