After Victor Lindelof was outmuscled by West Brom’s Mbaye Diagne in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns on Sunday, Gary Neville sees it as confirmation of the team’s defensive weaknesses.
Neville also questioned whether United’s current first-choice defensive line-up is compatible, summarising: “Lindelof’s problem is Maguire and Maguire’s problem is Lindelof.”
Speaking on Monday Night Football, Neville explained: “I don’t think the discussions we’re having now are anything new. We said at the start of the season that Manchester United needed a centre-back, and that there were question marks over the goalkeeper.
“If you look at the goal against West Brom, it’s not going to take those feelings away. They were taken back into the box with Diagne fighting with Lindelof, and West Brom keep the ball alive. Sam Allardyce will have worked on this all week.
“He’d have worked on positions in wide areas, and both Maguire and Lindelof don’t shift up. They don’t move their feet three, four, five yards. They never do and they have to do it. If they don’t start doing it, they’re never going to get to a point where they’re going to win the league.
“Going back 10 years it was the same – you’ve got to be aggressive in getting out your box. What happens is Lindelof gets pinned. He got pinned by a player who’s stronger than him, who outmuscles him and who bullies him. Once you’re in that position, it’s a nightmare.
“There will be people who will say it’s a foul. It’s never a foul. It’s never a foul at all. It’s a brilliant header. Lindelof is too deep and is outmuscled. He’s fighting with the striker.
“When I played centre-back for United, which would be around 10 to 15 games a season, there was always a game where physically I just couldn’t handle it. I’ve got two goals I can remember which stick in my mind as massive learning experiences.
“The first was against Les Ferdinand [QPR, December 1994]. Les was brilliant in the air and I was like Lindelof on Sunday. He got up early and I was trying to fight him but I had no chance.
“The second one I remember was against Alan Shearer at Old Trafford [Newcastle, January 2002]. Shearer knew what he was doing. He has a similar height to Ferdinand, and I think Lindelof finds himself in this position quite a bit where he gets put under pressure like I was with that goal where I wasn’t tight enough.
“Lindelof does struggle aerially, whereas Maguire struggles when the ball is played in behind him and he has someone running at him one-on-one.”
Follow our socials Whatsapp, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google News.