Gary Neville believes the Manchester United midfield pairing of Youri Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo needs to be changed. He said that they cannot play together, despite being good players individually.
The Red Devils hosted Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Saturday, October 10. However, they put in a poor performance and were helped by Spurs’ wastefulness. It ended in a 1-1 draw, but Tielemans and Mainoo were overrun by Sandro Tonali, Lucas Bergvall and Conor Gallagher.
Thanks for the submission!
After the game, Manchester United legend Gary Neville spoke about the duo on The Gary Neville Podcast:
“Tielemans and Mainoo, I think we’ve seen enough of it now. I’m not calling time on it because that’s probably too drastic but I’ve seen enough to think that’s not a midfield that’s dynamic enough to play at this football club in the Premier League. I think they are both good players, by the way, individually. But sometimes you just have players that don’t quite knit together or don’t quite suit each other.”
“I think when [Carlos] Baleba came on with Mainoo, it looked like there was a lot more energy. There’s going to have to be something done in there, and the rest of them are going to have to get a grip because they are going to a Diego Simeone Atletico Madrid and Elland Road,” he added.
Manchester United signed Tielemans, Carlos Baleba, and Andrey Santos in the summer. While Baleba only returned from injury on Saturday, Santos has started just one Premier League game this season.
Manchester United have made their worst league start in 40 years
Despite their poor performance, the Red Devils took the lead in the 73rd minute against Tottenham Hotspur. Bryan Mbeumo turned around Jean Paul Van Hecke and scored. Rodrigo Bentancur was then sent off five minutes later for violent conduct against Luke Shaw.
Spurs managed to secure a draw, as Dominic Solanke scored in stoppage time after some poor defending from Lisandro Martinez. With the draw, Manchester United have now had their worst league start in 40 years.
Michael Carrick’s side have managed just six points in six Premier League games this season with just one win. They beat Ipswich Town 5-2 at home in their second game of the season. However, they lost 2-0 against Hull City and 1-0 against Manchester City. They also drew 2-2 against Everton and 1-1 against Fulham and Spurs.
Manchester United are already out of the EFL Cup, having lost 3-2 against Brighton & Hove Albion, despite leading 2-0, in the Third Round. They will next face Atletico Madrid away in the UEFA Champions League on October 13.
Edited by Aditya Singh
