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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

Rio Ferdinand slams Manchester United players for major weakness in Aston Villa collapse

Former centre-back Rio Ferdinand has accused Manchester United's players of lacking discipline following their 2-2 draw with Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday evening.

Despite finding themselves two goals to the good with less than 15 minutes of normal time left on the clock, courtesy of Bruno Fernandes' brace, United surrendered their advantage and were forced to settle for a point, with goals from Jacob Ramsey and Philippe Coutinho rescuing Steven Gerrard's side.

Considering United had been beaten by Wolves and scraped past Villa in the FA Cup in their opening two matches of 2022, this was another blow for both the club and interim manager Ralf Rangnick, with yet more pressure and negativity being pointed towards them.

However, Ferdinand, who has admitted that he was not surprised to see United blow their two-goal lead, has pointed the finger at the players, insisting they lacked discipline and don't know how to retain a lead.

Ferdinand told Vibe with Five : "It was a much more promising first half and I think everyone would have been in agreement. In the second half, they came out and they don't know how to hold a lead.

"They don't know how to navigate their way through tough periods in games. You get to a tough period in a game and it is about experience, the need for people to be talking and you need discipline.

"You need people to scream and keep them in their slots, not to run out and leave big gaps. The two goals came from people jumping out of positions and leaving gaps, meaning there was a domino effect and others had to jump in and then leave other gaps.

"You have to be patient. Discipline and patience in situations like that, when there is going to be a time in the game when you're ahead, it's 0-0 or 1-1 maybe, and the next goal is of vital importance, there is going to be a tough period when they're on top.

"Their fans were going crazy and you could hear them onto the Man United team. Fair play to Villa, too, as they changed their way of playing in the second half.

"But United then had to weather the storm and they don't seem to have the ability to do that. Whether it is the temperament, whether it is ability, experience and other things, they just collapsed.

"You sit there and you are not surprised - that is the disappointing thing. Was I surprised that they didn't manage to finish this game off? No, because I have seen it happen before and seen them let teams back into games before."

Furthermore, Ferdinand also questioned whether or not United's players have an understanding of the club's culture.

"This all goes back to the culture at the football club," added the former United defender. "There does not seem to be a culture that they are all adhering to and understand.

"Individuals are doing their own thing, it seems."

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