Neville slams Man Utd despite spectacular Brentford comeback
Tom Weber
- 9 Oct 2023 15:46 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United secured a spectacular come-from-behind victory over Brentford on Saturday thanks to a stoppage-time brace from Scott McTominay.
While the result is ultimately a positive one, the performance left a lot to be desired. Andre Onana again looked unconvincing on Brentford's goal, while the rest of the team put in a largely unimaginative shift that was only salvaged by some injury-time madness.
It was poetic that it was Scott McTominay, a player Erik ten Hag had sought to offload in the summer, who would save the Dutchman from increased scrutiny and, given that the Scot has also been in outstanding form for his national team, has once again cast doubt on the boss' talent ID.
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Despite the win, club legend Gary Neville believes that this game perfectly illustrated why Man Utd won't be among the Premier League's best teams come the end of the season.
What did Neville say?
Speaking on his podcast, the legendary defender said: “I don’t think Manchester United will finish in the top five this season… but they proved me wrong last season after having a very poor start."
“I felt sorry for Brentford because I like them a lot. But it was huge. Huge in the sense of it had been such a depressing start to the season and by no stretch of the imagination does beating Brentford at home with two goals in the 93rd and 97th minutes mean that everything is ok."
"Far from it. It’s a mess. They [Man Utd] are way off it and I’m surprised because seven or eight weeks ago I had them third again."
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“The goalkeeper hasn’t settled in quickly. That’s a problem. If your goalkeeper isn’t settled in and there’s a bit of instability around that, it does create a big problem. I’ve had it at United."
“Chelsea are probably near to it [the top five] if they can just go on a run because they have got some really talented young players. Their age is a lot better than the Manchester United squad.”
