Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has pulled no punches towards two Manchester United players after Ruben Amorim’s side defeated Manchester City on Sunday evening.
Ruben Amorim’s men travelled away to the Etihad and Manchester United inflicted a 2-1 comeback win on the defending Premier League champions.
Manchester City took control of the first half after Josko Gvardiol headed past Andre Onana after connecting with Kevin De Bruyne’s deflected cross.
Despite Pep Guardiola’s men establishing their lead for the majority of the match, City would suffer an epic collapse during the dying stages of the match.
Amad Diallo won a spot-kick for United late in the second half and Bruno Fernandes would superbly dispatch the penalty past Ederson in the 88th minute.
United would then take the lead only two minutes later after Amad Diallo netted past a helpless Ederson, with the Red Devils clinching all three Premier League points.
Amorim’s side are now six points behind the Premier League top four and five points adrift from fifth-place City after 16 league matches played.
Neville reacts to Amorim’s ‘bold call’
Ruben Amorim raised eyebrows ahead of the 2-1 win at the Etihad after his huge call to leave two Manchester United players out of his squad entirely.
The 39-year-old Portuguese snubbed both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho and was asked why the two United players weren’t part of the travelling squad.
Amorim insisted that his decision to drop Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho was not based on any disciplinary issues against either United player.
Speaking after the Manchester City match, Gary Neville claimed that the two aforementioned United players have been “poor” with their performances.
“They’ve both been poor on the pitch,” he said on The Gary Neville Podcast, as per Sky Sports.
“That’s a fact. And Amorim said the selection issue was down to performance and performance and engagement with teammates.
“That means if they’ve not been good in the group. That’s why they weren’t here. What he’s done is made a bold call. What he has to do is shake this club to its core.
“I’m a United fan tonight, and I’ve got a smile on my face because something’s happened that I never expected.
“I had no faith or trust in these players to come here today and win, even as bad as City are.
“But Amorim has to make even more bold decisions because there are a lot of players in that squad who are not good enough to get Amorim where he wants to be and keep him in a job.”
Neville remains critical of Rashford and Garnacho
Neville insisted that former United players like himself remained at Old Trafford for as long as he did because of his “spirit” and his desire to work hard.
The 49-year-old United legend suggested that both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho have shown a “poor” work ethic during their time at the Red Devils.
“The reason that I stayed at that club for 19 years and that John O’Shea stayed for a long time, and Nicky Butt, Wes Brown, Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher, was because of spirit,” Neville added.
“Honestly, you need everybody every day to run as hard as they possibly can and do everything that they can.
“That’s what Manchester City have done for the last four or five years, with quality as well. But the work ethic has been poor from Garnacho and Rashford.
“We’ve watched them in those two wide positions for two, three seasons, not running back, thinking that they can play the game without putting the work in.”
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