Blame Ndidi For Barkley’s Goal In The FA Cup – Ferdinand

Ex-Manchester United defender, Rio Ferdinand has blasted Wilfred Ndidi for his poor defending vs Chelsea in the FA Cup.

Ferdinand recently revealed that the Nigerian actually defended poorly in the buildup to Barkley’s goal in the game.

According to him, it is Ndidi’s job to drop in to fill the gaps in defence when the CBs are marking other players, and he obviously failed to do that in the game.

He, however, added that this does not mean he is bad player because he earned the great reviews he has been getting in the EPL.

His words, “The gap between the centre-backs start to develop. When that happens, when that big gap comes, the big job is for Ndidi, who has had great reviews for how he’s played over the years, and rightly so,”

“Once you see the gap between the centre-backs when the ball’s wide, his job is to drop in, drop in here and be that guard in there. If you keep your eye on Ndidi here and look how many times he looks over his shoulder to see where Barkley is.

“One look, two looks – when he looks there – he has to drop in there and cover the run from Barkley. He knows he can get in behind Ndidi because he’s not looking.

“Jonny Evans, one of my old team-mates, sees this but he’s marking his man – Tammy Abraham – once he sees it he’ll come over to try and cover. But once this happens at this level, it’s too quick, the quality is too good, it’s a great cross and the timing eliminates defenders out of it.

“Barkley sees the space, darts into it, great ball, great finish. Bad defending from Ndidi and the midfield.”