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30th October 2023
03:34pm GMT
Micah Richards believes that only two members of the current Manchester United squad would make Manchester City's team.
Richards appeared alongside Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer for their popular podcast The Rest Is Football as they dissected United's heavy defeat to their city rivals.
An Erling Haaland brace and Phil Foden strike condemned Erik ten Hag's side to a miserable afternoon at Old Trafford as Richards, who was there to watch for Sky Sports, admitted that United were way off competing with their rivals.
"The least you should expect is for [underdogs] to put up some fight and [show] some spirit," Richards stated.
"This time, at this moment in time, just look miles and miles away."
Lineker and Shearer were equally as disappointed - so much so that all three struggled to think of any United players that would deserve a spot in the City squad.
The Match of the Day host claimed that Pep Guardiola would be interested in Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes and "maybe Luke Shaw if he was fit", to which Richards responded: "Yeah, Fernandes, Rashford. I'll give you them."
Shearer then shut down Richards' claim and chimed: "Fernandes wouldn't get anywhere near City's team with his lack of work-rate, no?" asked Alan Shearer. "He wouldn't press like City do."
Micah Richards then spoke of how, in his view, Fernandes often leaves his given possession and goes looking for touches, or challenges, around the pitch, to show fans he is working for the team. "He's trying to get the crowd onside, running out of position... when really, he's just playing for himself," the former City defender claimed.
Shearer and Richards then dug into the suitability of Fernandes to captain United, spurred on by Roy Keane's Sky Sports comments on the matter. "There's no doubting his quality," said Richards, "but it's not quite working out."
Before the game, Shearer said he had stated Marcus Rashford was the only United player that could "perhaps" operate in Guardiola's treble-winning City set-up. Rashford then went on to have another poor performance and was replaced by Anthony Martial in the second half.
"They look a broken squad, they look a broken team," said Shearer.
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