Pranav Nair
Rio Ferdinand rips into Manchester United after Champions League loss
Speaking on BT Sports, Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand was deeply unhappy with the team’s defensive show against Istanbul Basaksehir.
The Red Devils fell to a 2-1 loss to Turkey. The Turks took a 2-0 lead as United’s defence was all over the place.
In both goals, we saw that no United defender was in a position to catch up with the Turkish attackers. In fact, the defence was out of sorts tactically and out of shape.
Both Demba Ba and Edin Visca were left with time and space to better adjust themselves slot the ball past Dean Henderson.
As an accomplished defender who was part of a well-drilled set-up under Sir Alex Ferguson, Ferdinand knows a good rearguard when he sees it.
Solskjaer’s side would have had him ripping out his hair. In fact, he left it be known in uncertain terms that such a performance is unacceptable.
Ferdinand compared the United defence to the Sunday League. If anything, it has to be a slap in the face to the names on display for the club.
Harry Maguire, the skipper, was caught out of position and was unable to bring a semblance of organization at the back.
The Englishman had recently disagreed with Roy Keane’s assertion of United lacking leaders. If yesterday’s performance is anything to go by, he is far from walking the talk.
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A porous backline has been a constant problem in our gameplay throughout the season. Despite spending big to bring the likes of Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the system as a whole looks experimental.
Solskjaer has now had close to two years to bring in his philosophy. What we saw last night in Turkey was the absence of one.
