Roy Keane slammed Manchester United’s defending on Sky Sports
A furious Roy Keane was left “flabbergasted” by Harry Maguire and David de Gea’s errors for Steven Bergwijn’s opening goal for Tottenham against Manchester United on Friday Night Football.
Bergwijn put Spurs ahead midway through the first half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, dribbling easily away from Maguire and dispatching a low, central shot which De Gea was unable to keep out.
Sky Sports pundit Keane slammed Maguire for getting beaten so easily but reserved his strongest criticism for De Gea, saying he’s “sick to death” of the “overrated Manchester United goalkeeper”.
“I’m shocked at that goal,” the former United captain said on Sky Sports. “I’ve watched a lot of football over the years, but to give that away, I’m fuming.
“I can’t believe [Luke] Shaw heads the ball up and then runs forward, I’m staggered at Maguire, staggered that an international player can get done like this, and I’m sick to death of this goalkeeper.
“This is an established international goalkeeper. I’m flabbergasted. There’s got to be something going on at half-time. If I was Ole, make some changes, get some lads off the pitch, some of them are going through the motions at the moment.
“Spurs have been okay, they’ve been compact. But Maguire and De Gea, I wouldn’t let them on the bus after the match, let them get a taxi back to Manchester.”
It is not the first time Keane has been critical of De Gea. After Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Everton in March, he accused the Spain international of arrogance after his attempted clearance struck Dominic Calvert-Lewin and bounced into the net.
“These are established international players,” added Keane. “I know we’ve got to analyse the game, but you do your job.
David de Gea has made seven errors leading to opposition goals since the start of last season – the joint-most among Premier League players.
“We’re trying to get in the top four, not win leagues – just the top four! God forbid about winning trophies. It’s shocking. I am disgusted with it.
“Maguire, De Gea, you should hang your heads in shame. Representing Manchester United, letting people run past you. Get close to them!
“De Gea is the most overrated goalkeeper I’ve seen in a long, long time. Tottenham had some bits of quality, but I’d have saved that [Heung-Min] Son shot. That’s not a great save, it’s middle of the goal, it’s his job.”
3:02 FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Tottenham’s draw with Manchester United in the Premier League
United fought back to claim a 1-1 draw with Bruno Fernandes rescuing a point with a late penalty.
But Keane was not satisfied.
“United certainly deserved something out of the game,” he reflected after full-time.
“Credit to Tottenham, they stuck at it. But it was a game United should have won. They don’t score enough goals. They need to be more clinical.”
‘Pogba needs to play like this every week’
Paul Pogba of Manchester United during the Premier League match at Tottenham
One Manchester United player who did impress Keane was the returning Paul Pogba.
The Frenchman made a decisive impact following his second-half introduction from the bench, winning the penalty for the equalising goal on what was his first appearance for the club since Boxing Day.
The challenge for the Frenchman now, according to Keane, is to deliver performances like this on a consistent basis.
“There’s no doubt about Pogba’s talent,” he said. “He’s a talented boy. The reason why we criticise him is we believe he’s a talented kid, but what we need from Paul is to see this week in week out, not just every few weeks.
“The key for any player, if you want to be regarded a top player – and he’s got all that talent – is to be more consistent and he’s not been.
Pogba celebrates with Fernandes after the equaliser
“Okay, he’s had his injury problems this year, but we expect more from Paul because we think he’s a really, really good player. He has to be more consistent.”
Pogba’s future has been shrouded in uncertainty this season, but Patrice Evra, his friend and former France team-mate, insists the 27-year-old is determined to rediscover his best form at Manchester Untied following his return from injury.
“Tonight, you could see a great effort from him,” Evra said on Sky Sports. “He came on and you could see he wanted the ball. I saw that anger, that appetite to show to everyone that is one of the best midfielders at Man United.
“I’ve been talking with Paul often and he just couldn’t wait. He was like a baby. He just wanted to play football.
“I think this was really important for Paul because he didn’t have an easy start [to the season].
“Bruno Fernandes joined the team and people started saying, ‘oh, we don’t need Paul any more’.
“But United need Paul. People have to stop saying that they don’t need him. It’s not because I’m a friend – you could see it when he came on.”
Solskjaer responds to Keane criticism
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer laughed off criticism of De Gea in his post-match press conference, instead praising the quality of Bergwijn’s strike for the Tottenham opener.
“I’m disappointed that they scored the first time they had a chance, but the boy hit it really well, the ball moves,” he said. “Roy was a fantastic midfielder, he’s a good friend of mine, I’m not sure he would have stopped it either but that’s not the point.
“David is a bit disappointed with it, obviously, but if you see the ball, it was moving through the air, but we reacted well, and he made a good save a few minutes after.
“We had a bad spell then for 10 minutes and they looked like they could get the second, so when David saved that one we were at least in the game at half-time.”
Sky Sports are broadcasting 64 live Premier League games for the 2019/20 season resumption. In addition to the 39 matches already scheduled to be broadcast exclusively live on Sky Sports before the coronavirus interruption, 25 more matches are being broadcast on both Sky Sports Premier League and Sky’s free-to-air Pick channel, allowing the whole nation to be part of the return of live sport.
To celebrate the return of the Premier League, Sky Sports have also launched a host of innovative new features and updates to give fans an even more immersive experience and share the moments live with family and friends on virtual platforms.
