Fred Manchester United City 2021-22Getty

Man Utd 'gave up' in derby defeat, rages Keane, as Neville brands Red Devils a 'disgrace'

Manchester United 'gave up' in their derby loss to Manchester City, claims Roy Keane, while former team-mate Gary Neville branded their performance a 'disgrace' in their 4-1 defeat.

The Red Devils were humbled by their cross-town rivals in one of their crunch clashes of the second half of the season, with Ralf Rangnick's side blown out of the water by Pep Guardiola's hosts.

A lone goal for Jadon Sancho in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo could not compensate for another sluggish United display, with several key stars shrinking on the biggest stage again - and post-match, Keane had several choice words to describe their apparent attitude.

Article continues below

What has been said?

"The worst thing that you could say about United is that they gave up," the former midfielder told Sky Sports. "In any game if you give up, it's unforgivable really. The beauty of top-level sport is that there's no hiding place.

"We saw all of United's shortcomings today. Man City were very good in the second half but there are ways to lose football matches. You've got players not putting in performances and players not running back. They stopped running and they gave up. I don't understand it.

"The manager will be criticised about his tactics, but players not running back when you're playing for Man Utd is really unacceptable. They threw the towel in, which is shameful."

Keane added: "Who's running that dressing room? These guys seem more bothered about, ‘How am I looking? How’s my hair looking? Are my boots nice?’ You leave your ego at the door when you play for Man United.

"I'm looking at the United fans and they're not daft. They're watching their team and seeing they're not fighting. There are no excuses.

"There will be statements, I have no doubt, over the next few days but we all know who will making them through their teams and on Twitter and all that nonsense. I don't care about any of that.

"It's what you say on the pitch that matters."

Neville unimpressed with derby resolve

Under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United often rose to the challenge presented by their typically superior neighbours over the past few seasons, but in his first and likely only derby, Rangnick failed to coax the best from his side.

Neville had plenty of praise for Guardiola's hosts, but stressed that the performance of the visitors at the Etihad Stadium was unacceptable, adding: "At the end of the game, Manchester United finished like an absolute shower.

"They were a disgrace in the last 25 minutes. It's the first time Ralf Rangnick has taken them against a proper team and they have been given a proper doing."

Further reading

Advertisement