Glenn Fernandes
Peter Schmeichel has criticised Manchester United trio Eric Bailly, Luke Shaw, and Harry Maguire following Man City humiliation
In conversation with BBC Radio 5 Live (h/t Metro), Peter Schmeichel has given his brutal verdict on the defensive display of Eric Bailly, Luke Shaw, and Harry Maguire after Manchester United faced a disappointing defeat at home to Manchester City.
The Red Devils have struggled to maintain their consistency this season. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been under mounting pressure and the humiliating result against the Citizens certainly wouldn’t have done the Norwegian any favours. There has also been a lot of questions asked of the backline at Old Trafford that previously conceded five goals against Liverpool and four goals against Leicester City in the Premier League this season.
The former Man Utd goalkeeper goes on to highlight the inconsistency at the back for the second goal that was conceded on the night:
“They should clear the ball. Maguire and Shaw both leave it, they both have the chance to clear it, thinking that either the keeper is coming out for it or that it’s going out for a corner. Oh my god!”
The Red Devils have been going through a tough patch and are currently nine points away from Premier League leaders Chelsea. They have struggled to get going and have relied heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo in their recent fixtures. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has tweaked his system to a back three but that doesn’t seem to be reaping any dividends at the moment.
Ole’s men have been leaking goals at the back and that has created a lot of troubles for the club. Bruno Fernandes has been an isolated figure at times and can find it difficult to make an impact against the bigger teams at times. The unavailability of Paul Pogba hasn’t helped their cause either.
Man Utd boasts of some of the biggest names in football but seems to be finding it difficult to get the required results consistently. This glaring drawback was on display in the Manchester derby.
The 57-year-old Schmeichel also spoke about the Ivorian defender’s attempted clearances which led to the first goal for Manchester City:
“We talked about this pre-game – what version of Eric Bailly will turn up today? He got away with a couple of similar situations on Tuesday, this time he didn’t. To allow City to get the cross in when you have seven players in the box is not good enough.”
The Red Devils are also forced to play without injured centre-back Raphael Varane. His experience at the elite level may provide some sense of composure but the other involved haven’t been able to steer the ship at the back.
More Manchester United News
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- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer takes a jab at Manchester City ahead of the Manchester derby
- Manchester United star Edinson Cavani out with injury against Man City
The Old Trafford faithful would be hoping that Manchester United can sort out their defensive issues in the games to come. This would be important if the club is to perform and compete with the other top clubs consistently. The supporters would also be hoping that these players can pull up their socks and start putting favourable results on a regular basis.
