Richard Keys has taken another swipe at Wout Weghorst after insisting that Manchester United were once again "playing with 10 men" by starting the on-loan Burnley striker in Sunday's dramatic FA Cup tie against Fulham.
Weghorst, 30, led the line for United but failed to score again as they edged past their Premier League rivals at Old Trafford to advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.
The visitors were the better team for the majority of the match and took the lead shortly after the break through Aleksandr Mitrovic. However, a moment of madness from Willian, who conceded a penalty after handling the ball on the line, sparked chaotic scenes which led to the Brazilian winger, Mitrovic and Fulham boss Marco Silva all being sent off in the space of 90 seconds.
United took full advantage of their numerical advantage; Bruno Fernandes scored two goals either side of a cheeky Marcel Sabitzer flick to book another date at Wembley.
But despite United's win, Keys was less than impressed with Erik ten Hag's side. He insisted that Fulham were playing well enough to beat United without Willian, until Mitrovic and Silva also got themselves dismissed. And the former Sky Sports presenter couldn't resist taking another pop at Weghorst by implying the Dutch striker was once again anonymous for United.
Writing in his blog, Keys said: "Having berated some – let’s give Chris Kavanagh credit for his handling of a shambles all of Fulham’s making at Old Trafford. What were they thinking? Never has a team been more guilty of tossing away a match. Ninety seconds of madness cost them.
"The way United were playing I’d have fancied Fulham to beat them with 10 anyway. Sending Willian off only evened things up. United only had 10 on. You can’t count Weghorst. When he lost control Mitrovic cost Fulham any chance of winning the game."
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Keys has been particularly outspoken in his criticism of Weghorst ever since the striker completed a shock switch to United back in January.
Just last month, Keys claimed that Ten Hag was choosing to play with 10 men by persevering with the big striker, who cut his season-long loan at Besiktas short to join up with the Red Devils.
"You’re playing with ten men most weeks if he’s [Weghorst] in," Keys told beIN SPORTS after Weghorst blanked in United's 3-0 win over Leicester. "I mean, he doesn’t do enough to justify a starting place does he? Come on, let’s be honest!"
Despite Keys' criticism, Weghorst has been praised on numerous occasions by Ten Hag since his arrival. The striker has scored just twice in 18 appearances for United.
