Gary Neville noticed Christian Eriksen appearing ‘annoyed’ with his Manchester United teammates for being unable to play through midfield against Tottenham Hotspur.
United made a fast start against Tottenham on Sunday as Rasmus Hojlund smashed a fine strike into the roof of the net.
Richarlison’s leveller pegged United back, but Marcus Rashford slotted in number two as United showed a rare clinical edge in the final third.
Fans were hoping for a strong second half but Tottenham bagged another equaliser just after the restart, leaving United with a 2-2 draw.
United did have a golden chance to win it late on as Scott McTominay headed a great opportunity over the bar, but a point wasn’t a bad result.
Gary Neville spotted Christian Eriksen frustration in Manchester United draw
This still wasn’t a particularly impressive performance from United with Tottenham dominating possession at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag may want United to be a strong team in transition, but more control in a home game would be preferable.
Gary Neville even spotted one player appearing a little frustrated as United surrendered possession with a rushed hack up the pitch in the first half.
Diogo Dalot handed possession straight back to Tottenham and midfielder Christian Eriksen was seen throwing his arms out in frustration.
Neville picked up on it during his coverage of the game on Sky Sports (32min), highlighting that Eriksen looked ‘really annoyed at United giving the ball away rather than attempting to play out from the back.
“I’ve just seen Christian Eriksen a couple of times get really annoyed when Manchester United move the ball back, not being braver, to play that first pass through midfield,” said Neville.
Eriksen wants to get on the ball in front of his defence and pick out passes to get United moving forward; seeing the ball bypass him and go straight to the opposition isn’t what he wants.
Questions linger over United style of play
United fans were excited when Ten Hag was appointed, having witnessed his possession-heavy approach at Ajax.
We haven’t really seen that at United though, with Ten Hag instead focusing on transition play.
When you have Rashford, Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho in the side, we can understand trying to get the ball forward and in behind quickly.
Completely bypassing the midfield doesn’t need to be a part of that though and Tottenham have shown the ability to play through the pitch whilst generating transition chances with real pace out wide.
It’s possible to do both and Ten Hag may need to push for a little more control in the middle of the park in order to ease concerns about his style of play and the direction of this United side.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
