Gary Neville was not surprised that Manchester United crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday night after losing 1-0 against Atletico Madrid.
Like quite a few Reds I know, Neville didn’t get carried away when Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to beat Tottenham 3-2 at the weekend.
United not only lack bite but we are not to most organised unit either. Things have picked up defensively under Ralf Rangnick but we’re not scoring enough goals.
Diego Simeone’s game plan went exactly to plan and it helped that the referee in charge was extremely weak. Atleti defended with stubbornness by getting players back and United couldn’t find a way to break them down.
However, being knocked out of the Champions League means United have gone five seasons without a trophy. The Reds also face an uphill task to qualify for next season’s Champions League with Arsenal, who have two games in hand, placed in a stronger position to clinch fourth spot.
Neville believes it’s going to be a long road until the end of the season as United have no chance of winning any silverware. He took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to deliver an honest assessment, saying:
“No surprise last night. Any decent team, with organization and fight are likely to beat this United team. It’s why I couldn’t get excited after Spurs last Saturday because that Spurs performance would will get you beat v a good team. A long road in to the end of May!”
No surprise last night. Any decent team , with organisation and fight are likely to beat this United team. It’s why I couldn’t get excited after Spurs last Saturday because that Spurs performance would will get you beat v a good team. A long road in to the end of May!
— Gary Neville (@GNev2) March 16, 2022
United don’t play again for over two weeks because there’s FA Cup football this weekend followed by an international break.
We can’t keep papering over the cracks.These defeats are a reality check & a constant reminder of how low the club has sunk.a serious rebuilding process under the right personnel is needed here.No more short cuts.