Gary Neville doesn’t think Manchester United have “got it in them” to “surprise” everyone and beat Liverpool at Anfield at the weekend.
The Red Devils gave fans hope they had turned a corner with their 2-1 victory over Chelsea in midweek but yet again Erik ten Hag’s side showed their inconsistency by losing 3-0 to Bournemouth on Saturday.
Goals from Dominic Solanke, Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi secured all three points for the Cherries at Old Trafford with pressure growing on Ten Hag to turn around performances and results.
That loss means Man Utd are currently sixth in the Premier League table, six points adrift of the top four and ten points behind leaders Arsenal.
It doesn’t get any easier for Man Utd with the Red Devils facing a Champions League clash against Bayern Munich before heading to Anfield to face arch-rivals Liverpool in their next Premier League fixture.
And Neville is holding out little hope that Man Utd can get a result against Liverpool on Sunday with Jurgen Klopp’s side in good form.
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“If you’re a United fan you’ve got a feeling that you’re going to get beat up and you’re going to get done in properly because of 7-0 last season and the way in which they’re playing at the moment,” Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast.
“It doesn’t always work out like that and I’m sure Jurgen Klopp this week and the Liverpool players won’t be sat there thinking, ‘oh here we go, this is easy pickings’. That’s not how it goes in football.
“The thing that Manchester United have to fear most is that Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are a professional bunch and they’ve done well over a seven-year period. My concern with this Manchester United team is that they haven’t got it in them to surprise us.
“They haven’t got the leadership, they haven’t got the quality to be able to go to Anfield and that is a bear pit of a place for a United player. I don’t care what team you are, I don’t care how good you are, whether you’re a championship winning team or whether you’re a team that’s sixth in the league it can be a bear pit.
“It can swallow you up and if those players don’t stand up and stick that chest out next week and they don’t take the ball and show courage, it will eat you alive and that’s what they’ve got to prepare for this week: Courage to play.
“But before that they’ve got the small task of Bayern Munich in the Champions League so it’s a tough week for them, but it shouldn’t be a tough week.
“These should be the weeks that a Manchester United team should dream of: Bayern Munich and Liverpool away, but it’s a week now that becomes fearful and makes you anxious and that’s just the state of the club in general.”
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
