This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Speaking after Manchester United’s 3-3 draw with Sheffield United, Owen Hargeaves has labelled the majority of the Red Devils’ performance as “dreadful”.
What did he say?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side came into the clash against the Blades on a run of five wins in their last six games across all competitions, but fell 2-0 down to Chris Wilder’s men.
A stunning comeback late in the second-half threatened to hand them an unlikely three points, but Oliver McBurnie salvaged a point for the home side in the dying embers of the game. And speaking after the dramatic match, Hargreaves tore into United’s poor display, claiming Sheffield United should have been out of sight by the time the Red Devils responded.
He told the Premier League (as quoted by The Metro): “Good luck making sense of that. For 70 minutes they were dreadful, they really were dreadful – that was probably their worst performance of the season. The first half was a disaster, nothing short of. Sheffield United should have been up by more goals, but he (Solskjaer) made changes.
“The one thing you can take from it is that the young kids stepped up, so almost kind of out with the old, in with the young guys. That’s what you’ll get from today. Because his team shape and the inclusion of Phil Jones did not work.”
More of the same
After seemingly getting back into form in recent weeks, United were brought back down to Earth with a shuddering halt at Bramall Lane. The international break seemed to sap all that momentum away from Solskjaer’s men, particularly in the first-half. The Blades racked up seven shots while the Manchester side could muster up just one, and but for some pure David de Gea brilliance, they could have really put the game to bed.
But following some second-half changes, United eventually responded and were just minutes away from snatching a win from the jaws of defeat. However, as Hargreaves describes it, the side’s “dreadful” display shouldn’t mask some of the problems that resurfaced on Sunday afternoon. They looked defensively shaky, and woefully out of sorts going forward. Against more clinical sides, the Red Devils will almost certainly not be given a way back into the game.
Meanwhile, many Manchester United fans absolutely loved Dean Henderson’s comments prior to the clash against Sheffield United.
