“We are not good enough” – David de Gea labels Manchester United display as ‘disgrace’ after Everton defeat
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has heavily criticized his side following their demoralizing 1-0 defeat to Everton in the Premier League on Saturday. Anthony Gordon's deflected first-half strike was enough for Everton to claim all three points.
The Red Devils' chances of finishing in the top four seem to have ended with defeat.
Manchester United went into the game as favorites with the Toffees battling relegation but they were woeful and lackadaisical on the day. They looked like they were just going through the motions.
De Gea had a decent game, though, making a number of saves to save his side from further disarray.
The Spaniard spoke to BBC Sport (via Manchester Evening News) where he slammed the side's performance:
"It is a disgrace from us, we should be winning this game. We don’t score but we don’t create proper chances to score. We are not good enough, that is for sure. It will be difficult to be in the top four. They played Wednesday and they were tired but they had more desire than us, that is not acceptable. Very sad to lose today."
De Gea: “They [Everton] played Wednesday and they were tired but they had more desire than us, that is not acceptable. Very sad to lose today.” [@ShamoonHafez] #MUFC
Nice to see someone admit desire is an issue within this squad. 👏 https://t.co/iO5oE4AIKJ
Manchester United a mess from top to bottom and it's not just the Glazers
The Red Devils are rotting away with each passing week. One would think that ESPN's reports indicating Erik ten Hag is set to be confirmed as the club's next boss would spur the side on.
But they looked like a side battling relegation in their disappointing loss to Everton.
"What you have to do is make sure you operate in the right manner, and I have to say in this moment in time, there is something rotten to the core of the decisions that have been made in last four or five years, and it has to be coming from the top." - Gary Neville (Sky Sports, 2018)
Manchester United fans often take to social media to criticize their owners, and rightfully so. But their squad is full of egos and players that deep down don't care for the club too much.
The frontline of Marcus Rashford, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho were woeful against the Toffees.
Ralf Rangnick's decision to start Nemanja Matic definitely didn't pay off.
But then Paul Pogba came on for Fred in the first half and it looked as if he was day-dreaming of playing for another side.
Paul Merson scrutinized United's decision to hand Bruno Fernandes a new deal midweek and today's game wouldn't have encouraged ten Hag.
"I'm flabbergasted if I'm being honest" 😮
Paul Merson is shocked that Manchester United have signed Bruno Fernandes to a new long-term deal 📝 https://t.co/rzZlscmXZe
The defense looked nervous each time Everton approached their box, and that's been the case for the majority of the season.
The club are in utter turmoil and not even the excitement of the ten Hag news has helped change things.
But the Dutch coach may reap the benefits of this group of players being at their worst. He can perhaps begin to root out the ones he doesn't deem fit to play for Manchester United.