Gary Neville has joked that Manchester United 's first-half performance against Leicester City made him feel like he was 'watching Soccer Aid '.
The Red Devils drew 1-1 with the Foxes at Old Trafford on Saturday, with a rapid equaliser from Fred cancelling out Kelechi Iheanacho 's 63rd-minute opener.
United produced a largely lethargic display, devoid of energy which led former captain Neville to label them "depressing" in some brutal post-match analysis, as Ralf Rangnick 's men slipped up in the race to qualify for the Champions League.
In conversation with acclaimed commentator Martin Tyler on the Gary Neville podcast, the ex-Red Devils right-back bemoaned: "It was like one of the Covid matches, wasn't it?
"I got announced that I was playing in Soccer Aid this week and I thought I was watching it [in the] first half. It wasn't good.
"When the teams came through, Martin, sometimes we're sat up here, thinking about formations, who's gonna play where - but we couldn't quite work it out what Manchester United were going to do.
"We worked out pretty quickly that it was the same front six that played at Manchester City. And we thought, 'Well they can't play that again because that didn't work at City'.
"Obviously, Leicester are a different team, but just the whole idea behind it, having no sort of penetration, no running in behind.
"And then you think [Jadon] Sancho and [Anthony] Elanga will play more narrow as split strikers but they didn't, they played outside the full-backs. So, they were very wide and it left [Paul] Pogba and [Bruno] Fernandes acting as dummy centre forwards."
Leicester star James Maddison had a potential winner ruled out by VAR for a foul on Raphael Varane, as referee Andre Marriner overturned his original decision after reviewing the defender's collision with Iheanacho on the pitch-side monitor. Continuing to lament his old club's plight, Neville claimed that the Foxes deserved to come away with all three points and admitted that United are "way off" their top-four-chasing rivals.
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"It was a struggle, that. That was a big struggle. I was expecting Manchester United to come and win this game and, you know, put pressure on the teams that are gonna go for that top four; Arsenal obvious, Tottenham [Hotspur]," the 85-capped England international added. "They're way off it, they're absolutely way off it at this moment in time.
"We didn't have an idea what they were going to do before the game but the bigger worry was that the players didn't have an idea what they were doing - and that's been the same all season.
"I said during the game, I think we've been so fortunate this season with the amount of quality games that we've seen from top to bottom, barring Norwich [City], every team you look at and think they know what they're doing, they're well organised, there's no easy games.
"It's a really tough Premier League, this. But this Manchester United team, for what they've had spent on it, all season, they haven't got a clear idea.
"You talk about 'philosophy', I know it's a bit of a buzz word, and has been for a few years now, but every team you watch, you have a clear idea of what they're trying to do in possession and out of possession."
Neville then dug into Rangnick and co's approach to the game, in which they struggled to trouble the visiting defence. Sancho missed an opportunity late on, as guilt-edge chances were few and far between.
"Manchester United are not a pressing team, they're actually depressing when you watch them out of possession because they just walk around," he added. "For about 20 minutes in that second half, up until Iheanacho scored that goal and he fouled Varane, they were walking around the pitch, Manchester United, watching Leicester pass.
"And Leicester deserved to win that game to be fair. Manchester United didn't deserve a draw.
"They got one which is a point, but I'm really disappointed, I have been all season, but there was further evidence of it. I thought after the international break, the run in, the sprint, you'd just see them fully focused.
"They're out Europe, they're out of every other competition, go for that fourth place.
"There's some big games to come; Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal... Lack of hunger, lack of idea, the clouds are circling above, and most of them have got rain in them and they're black. It's not a good time, they need to get to the end of the season.
"I've watched that today and thought, 'This team needs to get to the end of the season'. I don't think they'll finish fourth."
