Pranav Nair
Gary Neville draws Jose Mourinho comparison after Manchester United draw with Manchester City
Speaking on Sky Sports (h/t Twitter), Manchester United legend, Gary Neville was not left impressed with the club’s approach in the Manchester derby.
Both sides played out a rather underwhelming tie that ended goalless. United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went on to praise his side’s mental strength in coming back from the heartbreaking loss to RB Leipzig midweek.
He even went on to call the performance the best by a United side in the derby under his guidance. It is clear that these sentiments were not shared by Neville.
He went on to state that there was no intent from either side to win the game. Both managers appeared to go in with a defensive mindset in a match that is usually electric.
This time, however, it was a snoozefest with very few clear-cut chances created. Neville points out had Jose Mourinho been in charge of either side, the Portuguese would have been called out for parking the bus.
“If Jose Mourinho was the manager of either of those teams we would be killing them now.”
The safety-first approach was also something that was brought up by another of Neville’s former teammates-Paul Scholes.
The Ginger Prince went on to praise United’s defensive solidity. But he was quick to point out that it was achieved thanks to the double pivot of Fred and Scott Mctominay. (h/t Metro)
While the duo did a good job at keeping things tidy at the back, it came at the expense of attacking acumen.
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The derby was a damp squib that should not become the template on how we approach matches in the future. It is necessary for Solskajer to not just say the right things but also ensure his teams play to win on the pitch.
Solskajer clearly gets a pass at times where his predecessor Mourinho would not have. It remains to be seen how long that will continue.
