Gary Neville says Manchester United’s 1-0 defeat to 10-man Everton “smelt of complacency” and will “erode trust” in Ruben Amorim’s side. Everton’s Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored a first-half winner after Idrissa Gueye was sent off for slapping team-mate Michael Keane, with Everton becoming the first team to win at Old Trafford in the Premier League after having a player dismissed. United were booed at full-time and remain 10th, having missed a chance to climb to fourth with a big win.
Neville called the performance “nowhere near good enough” and “an embarrassment at times,” ending United’s five-game unbeaten run. Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, he said it felt as if the players had already imagined being in Champions League positions and therefore hadn’t been at it from the start. He added the display set the team back to earlier poor showings and warned it would erode confidence and trust in both the manager and the squad. “The fans booed collectively at the end. It was loud, and rightly so,” he said.
United were without summer signings Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko through injury, forcing Ruben Amorim to start Joshua Zirkzee up front — his first start for the club since last April. Neville rejected injuries as an excuse, saying Everton dominated United both with 11 players and after going down to 10 because of their fight and spirit.
Jamie Carragher also criticised Amorim, calling it “a bad night for the manager.” Carragher questioned Amorim’s failure to change his approach after Everton were reduced to 10 men and said many would now seriously question the manager’s decisions, noting that while players should do better, Amorim would take much of the blame.
Neville was also critical of specific tactical choices. He questioned the decision to bring on Diogo Dalot while Patrick Dorgu and Luke Shaw were struggling, and slammed Shaw’s lack of urgency, describing him as “ambling” forward instead of running into attack. Neville felt the team needed urgency, a wider pitch, more players in forward areas and sustained, high-tempo crossing to create presence in the box — none of which he saw. He described United’s play as very slow with no presence in the penalty area, calling the overall display “not acceptable.”