Roy Keane calls Manchester United ‘desperate’ after late leveller costs them two points against relegation-threatened West Ham
Roy Keane accused Manchester United of being too “frightened” to see out victory over West Ham after blowing the chance to move up to fifth in the Premier League, and called the performance “desperate”.
West Ham salvaged a late 1-1 draw at Old Trafford when Soungoutou Magassa’s 83rd-minute equaliser cancelled out Diogo Dalot’s opening goal.
Under Ruben Amorim, United have only taken 20 points from 27 games at Old Trafford, and only managed one win from their last five in the league – drawing three of those, despite being ahead in each.
“After they get the goal, you are playing against a team in the bottom three, they take their foot off the gas,” said Keane. “Take nothing away from West Ham and they just about deserved the equaliser.
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FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Manchester United’s match against West Ham in the Premier League
“You are just putting yourself under pressure. Every time I watch this United team, they disappoint. They aren’t clinical, they weren’t nasty enough to get the job done.
“People will be scratching their heads. One minute they are making progress, win and you go fifth. There will be a lot of frustration.
“Show your quality. In their last three or four games, I think it has been desperate. Really poor. An opportunity to get the job done and they were almost frightened.
“Same old problems. The last three or four games, that sums them up. Not quite doing enough.
“Where is the frustration with this group of players? I’ve watched the games closely, the lack of quality and intensity. They got two goals against Palace but they defended like a pub team. There is expectation at this club, you have to deal with that.”
Bruno Fernandes shows his frustration at full-time
Keane also questioned the standards of the home side after they switched off from a set-piece to concede the leveller. Since the start of last season, only West Ham themselves (17) have conceded more league goals from corners than Manchester United (15).
“The reason you are playing for Man Utd is that you deal with these situations,” Keane added.
“If they are anxious, you worry why they are playing for Man Utd and what they are fearful of. Fearful of West Ham, why?”
Dalot: We were too anxious, it’s our fault
Defender Diogo Dalot said his side became “anxious” after opening the scoring at Old Trafford, and must look at themselves after squandering another lead.
“Obviously disappointed. We have to control much more of the game, especially at home,” he told Sky Sports.
“We cannot get as anxious as we get. We were a bit more sloppy with the ball in possession. Obviously disappointed with the draw, we had the game there.
“It’s a solution we need to find. In the end, we have to look to ourselves. It’s more our fault.”
Man Utd lack any proper conviction
Soungoutou Magassa netted a simple equaliser from a corner seven minutes before the end
Analysis by Sky Sports’ Laura Hunter:
It was established far further back than Thursday night that Manchester United lack resolve under pressure. Diogo Dalot says his team-mates are hindered by anxiety. Really, it’s just about concentration levels.
Ruben Amorim’s side have not registered a clean sheet in seven games – since early October. They establish a foothold in games and then inevitably concede it. They win a game and then suffer a setback in the next. There is no continuity here.
United dominated every attacking metric against inferior West Ham, creating higher xG, landing more shots on target and generating three big chances – two of those were missed. They had 42 touches in the opposition box. That’s a staggeringly high amount if the yield is only one goal.
Ultimately, this United team have very little conviction. Amorim bemoaned a lack of second-half control post-match and blamed “second balls”. If you don’t compete, or can’t compete, for a whole 90 minutes that is what will happen.
