Roy Keane lambasted Manchester United for being “too easy to play against” and labelled them “the new Spurs” following defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
The Red Devils failed to find the net on Saturday afternoon as a strike from Pape Matar Sarr and an own goal from Lisandro Martinez handed the Lilywhites all three points.
Man United had a shout for a penalty waved away in the first half after Alejandro Garnacho saw a shot blocked by the arm of Cristian Romero.
Ultimately a superb second half showing from Tottenham sealed the victory, with Man United unable to convert any of their 22 chances in the game.
The result represented a first win for the hosts over Man United at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since it opened in 2019, while it continued Ten Hag’s wretched record against big teams on the road. They have failed to win any of their ten away games against last season’s top nine since the Dutchman arrived.
“Man United are the new Spurs. Desperate. Absolutely desperate,” Keane said in his post-match analysis on Sky Sports.
“The biggest insult I always think about is teams who can’t do it away from home, players who aren’t up for it away from home.
🗣 "I think Man United are the new Spurs… DESPERATE" 😬
Roy Keane is NOT happy! 😡 pic.twitter.com/L0KjpkB7ht
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) August 19, 2023
“They’re a good team, they fancy it when their home fans are in front of them, they’ve got that support and energy. United go away today.
“Second half, weak, no leadership, gave bad goals away. Spurs were lovely. All credit to them. It’s easy to play against Man United also.”
The Irishman continued: “I said before the game they were poor against Wolves but they got the result and will be better today. They weren’t.
“They were fine in the first half an hour but the game is over 90 minutes. You’re not going to dominate that long but you’ve got to show some belief, desire, fight.”
Keane was also highly critical of United’s attacking players, in particular Marcus Rashford for acting like a “child” while having to play through the middle.
“They’re bringing on [Anthony] Martial – you might as well bring on Frank Stapleton and Norman Whiteside. Martial is not going to get you out of trouble,” he said.
“Rashford played through the middle again. Usual stuff. He’s like a child up there. He’s obviously not happy playing there. His body language and his first few touches suggest he doesn’t want to play through the middle.
“But you have to. You’ve got to do a job for the team. You’re looking at the captain, the senior players, established international players – easy to play against. That’s the biggest insult I can give to these Man Utd players.”
