Ten Hag vows to take responsibility as Man Utd humbled by Bournemouth
Manchester United must have the courage to play football to avoid being “eaten alive” by Liverpool at Anfield this weekend, according to Gary Neville. Red Devils fans will travel to Merseyside on Sunday, fearing a repeat of last season’s 7-0 mauling.
Liverpool are the Premier League leaders and have won all 11 home games this season, making United’s visit a daunting proposition.
Erik ten Hag’s side are sixth, 10 points behind the Reds, and haven’t won an away game against top-eight opposition since a 2-1 triumph at West Ham United in September 2021.
Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford wasn’t an ideal warm-up for a daunting week, starting with the Champions League visit of Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
And Neville doesn’t believe United have what it takes to spring a surprise at Anfield, noting Liverpool’s professionalism will rule out any complacency before kick-off.
“If you’re a United fan, you’ve got a feeling that you’re going to get beat up and you’re going to get done in properly because of 7-0 last season and the way in which they’re playing at the moment,” he told the Gary Neville Podcast.
“It doesn’t always work out like that, and I’m sure Jurgen Klopp this week and the Liverpool players won’t be sat there thinking, ‘Oh, here we go, this is easy pickings’. That’s not how it goes in football.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive Man Utd news.
READ MORE Man Utd plan Man City raid, Arsenal £52m boost, Liverpool chase wonderkid[BLOG]
“The thing that Manchester United have to fear most is that Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp are a professional bunch, and they’ve done well over a seven-year period. My concern with this Manchester United team is that they haven’t got it in them to surprise us.
“They haven’t got the leadership, they haven’t got the quality to be able to go to Anfield, and that is a bear pit of a place for a United player.
“I don’t care what team you are, I don’t care how good you are, whether you’re a championship-winning team or whether you’re a team that’s sixth in the league, it can be a bear pit.
“It can swallow you up, and if those players don’t stand up and stick that chest out next week and they don’t take the ball and show courage, it will eat you alive, and that’s what they’ve got to prepare for this week: Courage to play.”
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
DON’T MISS
Ex-Man Utd chief in UEFA ‘civil war’ that could see Ceferin stay in power[NEWS]
Man Utd have nightmare run of fixtures that could leave Ten Hag in big trouble[ANALYSIS]
Man Utd humiliated as 10-year David Moyes speech comes back to haunt Ten Hag[SOCIALS]
Neville added: “These should be the weeks that a Manchester United team should dream of, Bayern Munich and Liverpool away, but it’s a week now that becomes fearful and makes you anxious, and that’s just the state of the club in general.”
The results of United’s last five games against Liverpool make up a 21-4 aggregate defeat, winning just one of those meetings.
United haven’t won at Anfield since a 1-0 victory under Louis van Gaal in 2016, going eight games without success.
All signs point towards that woeful run extending this weekend, with Ten Hag’s side at serious risk of an eighth defeat in 17 Premier League matches.
Source: Read Full Article