Manchester United legend Gary Neville slammed his former side’s “embarrassing” display in Sunday’s derby defeat to Manchester City, claiming it looked as if they were playing with nine men.
The first 45 minutes at the Etihad was a relatively even affair, with City going into the break 2-1 up after Kevin de Bruyne struck a brace either side of Jadon Sancho’s goal.
However, City went up a gear after the interval and destroyed their neighbours, Riyad Mahrez scoring twice to complete a 4-1 rout, though the hosts could comfortably have scored more, managing 14 shots in the second half, compared to none from United.
Mahrez’s first goal on 68 minutes effectively ended the game as a contest and Neville was left irate at United’s response as City toyed with their rivals in the closing stages.
“Manchester United ended that game like an absolute shower,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “They were a disgrace in the last 25 minutes.”
The defeat, coupled with Arsenal’s victory at Watford earlier, sees United drop out of the top four.
They face Tottenham in another crunch fixture next weekend but Sunday’s derby loss was interim boss Ralf Rangnick’s first match against one of the traditional ‘Big Six’ and could hardly have gone worse.
“The first time he’s come up against a proper team they’ve been given a proper doing,” Neville added.
