Manchester United’s midfield duo of Fred and Andreas Pereira is not good enough for a mid-table Premier League team, talk more of a club of Manchester United’ stature, according to Gary Neville.
Both Brazilians started in the heart of Man Utd’s midfield during Sunday’s clash against Sheffield United and it ended in a 3-3 draw.
Speaking recently, Neville said the pairing is just not good enough for a club like United even if injuries to key players is the reason Ole might be playing them.
His words, “I’m disappointed with their away performances in general and the way they approach the games.
“Defensively the system didn’t work in terms of the back five in the first half. It looked like one team knew how to play it and the other didn’t.
“The midfield I’m not going into because Fred and Pereira is not a midfield. It is not a midfield for a mid-table club let alone one of the top spending clubs in Europe, though they have got injury problems and other issues in that area.”
“What disappointed me was the lack of penetrating runs with and without the ball of the front three. I felt they could have done much more for the team,” added the former England full-back.
“That front three are the spark, they are the ones that win the game for this current team. They’ve got so much talent.
“There are two front threes in this league for the top two clubs, Manchester City and Liverpool, that are absolutely outstanding. They are at it every single game, They fight for the ball and fight without the ball.
“They are not bad lads, and we know they have talent as they proved in the final 20 minutes, but there is something fundamentally wrong there in that first 70 minutes of the game – that cannot happen at that club.
“I can expect inconsistency from young players in terms of performance levels, missing chances and decision making. What you can’t expect is inconsistency around work ethic, application and attitude.
“I’ve come to the conclusion on two things. One: they haven’t got senior players setting the standards for them to let them know what’s required in a football team.
“When I first broke into the team I had people around me to let you know where to go.
“[Juan] Mata and [Ashley] Young are on the bench, [Paul] Pogba is injured, [Nemanja] Matic is looking to get away. The experienced players in the club are in turmoil a little bit. So the [youngsters] are all out on that pitch together.
“And one more thing: they don’t know how to approach and Premier League away game. They don’t understand it is different play at Old Trafford than it is at home.”
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