Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has defended the Reds' attacking stars after Gary Neville criticised the club's forward players.
Neville suggested that Erik ten Hag's forward unit were the weakest among the 'top six' sides in the Premier League, claiming that he would pick the majority of other club's attacking players over United's.
The Reds have scored 18 goals in their opening 13 Premier League matches, which is significantly less than the other current top-four teams. Despite this, Ten Hag's men have still won seven top-flight matches and are just three points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand.
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Ex-United full-back Neville suggested that the Reds' forwards aren't as good as they should be - admitting that he was not convinced by the notion that United are 'back'.
"Overall, I'm not wholly convinced by this idea that Manchester United are back. They're not," said Neville on his podcast.
"They're nowhere near Manchester City. They're more watchable and have got a bit more fight. Eriksen has brought quality in midfield and Martinez at the back has brought tenacity - but he can't keep a steady pair. That's a problem.
"United's front three are the weakest out of the top six. You think of Kulusevski-Kane-Son - United would take those three. Arsenal have Saka-Jesus-Martinelli. Liverpool have Nunez, Diaz, Jota, Salah and Firmino - you'd definitely choose three of them over what United have got. You'd take Chelsea's even.
"United's front players aren't as good as they should be, although Erik ten Hag is getting the maximum out of them. I don't know where the money has gone again - the spend over the past four or five years. There are signs that they are getting better, but they aren't back."
However, Silvestre has claimed that he is unsure why Neville has criticised the club's attacking players, insisting that United's front three are capable of competing with the best in the division.
"I don’t know why Neville said this – on an individual level, United’s front three are capable of competing with the top six," he told BettingExpert.
"I don’t know why he’s saying that. I think that if you look at individuals, these players are not the lowest. For me, it’s a collective response that United needs to find because if you take the players one by one, I think that are capable of competing with any of those teams.
"The issue right now for United is that the collective approach is not perfect – that will take time to build."
United face off against Aston Villa in the EFL Cup on Thursday night, with the clash against the Midlands club - the second in five days - the penultimate game before the season pauses for the World Cup.
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