Harry Maguire, in Roy Keane’s opinion, is keeping his Manchester United teammates from applying pressure on opponents.
Erik ten Hag’s team lost 2-1 to Fulham at home on Saturday, exposing once more United’s defensive weaknesses.
After that, former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher called United’s tactics “impossible” to execute, pointing out that Ten Hag’s players can’t pressure other defenses with a lineup this deep.
Furthermore, Ten Hag’s team is “frightened to death” to advance up the pitch, according to former United captain Keane, because Maguire lacks speed in defense.
‘They aren’t pressing up,’ Keane said on The Overlap’s Stick to Football show.
‘I don’t want to be just pinning it on [Harry] Maguire, but there’s always that worry with Maguire coming up and squeezing the pitch, like all the other top teams are doing.
‘There’s that worry with him all the time – that’s where there is gaps. They are frightened to death to come all the way up because they’re thinking, ‘anything over the top, he’d be in trouble’.
‘Manchester United haven’t got the players to [press],’ Keane said.
‘Fernandes is not going to do it. Rashford won’t do it.
‘They might do it for five or ten minutes, so if you’ve got a team that’s not going to press – we’re talking about leopards and spots.
‘Man United are never really going to be good at that pressing side of it.’
United face Manchester City in the Premier League this weekend. After the defeat against Fulham at Old Trafford last weekend, United need a big result in the Manchester derby.
Losing more points would be detrimental to United’s target of finishing in the top four of the Premier League.
