Gary Neville laments ‘a great missed opportunity’ after Man United was eliminated from the FA Cup by Leicester and lost a semifinal against Southampton – as a ‘demoralized’ analyst admits he was ‘surprised that the team had been shot so much’
- Gary Neville was “demoralized” after Man United fell into the FA Cup
- Leicester overtook Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United in the quarterfinals of the cup
- Neville feels United have lost a great chance of winning some titles this season
Gary Neville was “demoralized” after Manchester United fell in the FA Cup against Leicester.
Former Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho remained in good form in front of the goal for the Foxes with two goals, when Youri Tielemens did his best to get the Red Devils out of the competition in the quarter-finals.
United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer named a very different team after returning from Italy, where he defeated AC Milan in the Europa League round of 16.
Gary Neville was “demoralized” after the fall of Manchester United in the FA Cup
United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer chose a very different team after winning the Europa League
Neville admitted that he was surprised by the amount of changes that were made before the tie and feels that Solskjaer missed a good chance of winning a trophy.
“It was a good week, it is no surprise that they go to Milan and do what they did because they are good out and about,” he told Gary Neville’s podcast with Sky Sports.
‘To beat West Ham last week, and so I’m surprised that the team has changed so much.
‘I know he has done this, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but this was a real chance. You think about the semi-final tie that occurred in the interval of that game, which meant that the winner played Southampton.
‘It is not a trick against Southampton in the semifinal by any stretch of the imagination, but what an opportunity. And I believe that this group of players needs to win a trophy under the command of Solskjaer.
Neville admitted that he was surprised by the amount of changes that were made before the tie
‘Yes, of course, finishing second would be the priority at the beginning of the season and winning a trophy now will be the priority with that, they only have the Europa League left, but that was very good today.
‘They have a decent track record in Leicester and I was in the car listening to the game, I came back and thought’ here we go ‘, not surprised with United away – but then that second and third came in and it’s a huge missed opportunity . ‘
Neville also admitted that the defeat at King Power left him feeling “demoralized” as the search for the title with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took another step back.
“I’m a little demoralized tonight as a United supporter, because I think it was a really good option for this season,” he added.
‘And if you want to take Manchester City, you have to beat them. I have to beat them in the big game and in a big competition.
‘The Spurs will have that chance in a few weeks in a final and if Manchester City is in a final, I know they have Chelsea, so Manchester United has to be there to stop them.
Neville also admitted that the defeat at King Power left him feeling ‘demoralized’
‘You cannot count on other teams to stop them if you are the second best team in the country. If you have a decent track record against City, which United under Solskjaer has, then you are the one who will stop it.
‘If you think about 1999, when Arsenal won the double last year, we were the only team that could stop them in the semifinals and we stopped them, hard work, but we stopped them.
‘The same in the league, you can’t expect other teams to stop for you, if you want to take teams, you have to leave one of them and I’m disappointed with that tonight.
‘I think United fans are disappointed, I saw the reaction on social media.’
