Chris Sutton criticized Manchester United’s performance against Man City following their sobering loss at the Etihad Stadium.
The Red Devils lost the derby 6-3, but were down 4-0 at halftime due to a chaotic performance both in and out of possession.
In his column for The Mail Online, Sutton called United’s first half “embarrassing”.
“Anyone who tuned in at halftime shouldn’t have been fooled by the 4-0 scoreline. He hadn’t been that close.
“We like to talk about ‘identity’ in football, but Manchester United’s was non-existent.
“On the rare occasions they did win the ball in that first half, it was desperately long bunched up and came to naught. It was total football against total fools.”
It’s hard to disagree with the former striker, who scored 193 goals over the course of a 17-year career in British football.
Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes and Scott McTominay missed one in four passes in the first 45 minutes.
The latter did so in dangerous positions on numerous occasions, often creating opportunities for Manchester City. Rushing passes on the pitch left United’s three forwards barely sniffing until after the break, by which time the game was over.
While they put up a better performance after the break, teams get no points for winning the second half and the damage caused by halftime was insurmountable.
The onus now falls on Erik ten Hag to pick the team up once again as the Red Devils face a hectic October schedule that will see them play eight games in 24 days.
