‘There are huge question marks for the manager’
Roy Keane cast doubt on Erik ten Hag’s future as Manchester United manager following their derby day defeat to Manchester City.
Marcus Rashford had put the Red Devils ahead early on in the game with a stunning effort, and the men in red went into the break 1-0 up.
But City showed their class in the second-half as Phil Foden took centre stage. The City academy graduate scored a brilliant goal from 20 yards out on 56 minutes, before putting his side ahead with 10 minutes to go.
And Erling Haaland secured the three points for the Citizens with a stoppage time goal.
Erik ten Hag‘s team had been impressive in the first half, but were eventually worn down by the reigning Premier League champions, and only managed two shots in the entire game.
Speaking after the full time whistle in the Sky Sports studio, Keane admitted the defeat will increase the pressure on Ten Hag, even if City were “brilliant.”
He said: “There is no hiding place and United will have to take their medicine, but there are huge question marks for this team and, unfortunately, for the manager.
“I don’t want to be too hard on United because I thought Man City were brilliant and showed why they are champions.
“It leaves that question mark over where this United team are going. In the last 25 minutes they couldn’t get anywhere near City, who toyed with them.
“It was men vs boys in the end and they were just hanging in there. Towards the end, you’re thinking it could be four or five.
“That is 11 league losses now for United but with City, they find out all your shortcomings. There is no hiding place and they wore and wore them down.
“The stats at the end of the game showed you how dominant this Man City side were. Even the likes of Haaland and De Bruyne weren’t at their best but you have people like Foden who step up.
“He is an amazing, brilliant player but it still leaves question marks over United.”
The Irishman said the main issue United have is that they rely on moments of magic from individuals to get them over the line in games, instead of impressive performances as a team unit.
United’s goal came from a stunning Rashford strike from 25-yards out – which ended up being their only shot on target in the game.
The defeat leaves United sixth in the table, six points behind Spurs in fifth and 11 points behind Aston Villa in fourth.
It remains to be seen whether fifth place in the league will be enough for Champions League football next season. But with Ten Hag coming to the end of his second full season at Old Trafford, Keane said the Dutchman needs to start consistently getting results.
He said: “The problem is that this team is still all about moments. When you’ve invested all that money and the quality they have, you need a bit more than that.
“It’s more the games we’ve seen over the last few months where they’ve lacked that consistency of performance.
“United have just been digging out results but eventually that catches up with you. The bigger picture is that you need more.”
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