Roy Keane says Manchester United were ‘boys’ compared to Manchester City ‘men’

Manchester United have lost for an eleventh time in the Premier League this season as Erik ten Hag’s men lost 3-1 in the Manchester derby on Sunday evening.

Marcus Rashford’s early strike was not enough to earn a win at the Etihad Stadium, with three second-half goals from the hosts ensuring United slip 11 points behind Aston Villa in the race for a top-four finish.

For a while, it did look like United had City under control but that changed when their equaliser came early in the second half.

Roy Keane, the former United skipper, has delivered his verdict on the game and it does not make for pretty reading from a Red perspective.

“Eleven league games they’ve lost,” Keane told Sky Sports, via the BBC.

“It’s a scary stat. It was men v boys at the end. They were just hanging in there, making mistakes. It could have been four or five.”

“I don’t want to be too hard on United because City were brilliant. They showed why they’re champions,” he added.

“What City do is they find out all your shortcomings. There’s no hiding place. It’s like a boxing ring. They wore them down.

“The stats show you how dominant Man City were. Haaland and De Bruyne weren’t at their best but then Foden steps up.

“I think it’s more credit to Man City than being too critical of Man Utd. Manchester United will have to take their medicine today. Huge question marks for this team and the manager.”

Qualifying for next season’s Champions League is almost certainly out of reach now, with Aston Villa keeping their impressive form up.

Ten Hag has endured a difficult second season at the club and it remains to be seen how everything will unfold between now and the end of the season – it would not be surprising to see it turn sour.

It’s a show we’ve all seen before.