Bryan Robson has echoed Gary Neville's comments on Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri, after he made his mark in a short cameo at Anfield.
The Red Devils were hammered 4-0 on Merseyside as their brittle defence was exposed time and time again by the title chasers. Liverpool were ahead within five minutes and toyed with their rivals with their lack of character referenced by Neville on commentary.
Hannibal was bought on late into the game, with Liverpool already assured of victory, but made an impact as he put in a firm tackle on Naby Keita. It bought about an interesting response from Neville, who claimed he was "proud" of the Tunisian for showing some spirit in what was a lacklustre display.
He said on Sky Sports: "It takes a young kid to come on and show the rest of them how to sprint for the ball and put a challenge in. I'm actually proud of him! Maybe he doesn't like the idea of Liverpool players passing it round him. I wish the rest of them were the same."
Former United skipper Bryan Robson shared Neville's sentiment when he was quizzed on his thoughts on the youngster. He told MUTV: "You have to have control, and Hannibal took that right to the edge. I quite liked it. The fans want to see someone who cares. The kid only had five mins so at least he showed some pride."
Neville did confess that his comments on Hannibal may have been "unprofessional" but he hailed the way the 19-year-old went back to basics and was determined to win his battles, citing him as a player befitting his former club. He said post-match: "You find yourself being slightly unprofessional because he’s come on and, to be fair, he’s started to top a couple of them.
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"If you're having the p*** taken out of you on the football pitch and Thiago's going round there rolling his foot on the ball, flipping it round the corner and laughing at you on the bench, you've come on and basically you have to throw a few challenges out.
"That was Whiteside. That was what Norman Whiteside used to do when Bryan Robson came in and they knew they were playing against better players and a better team, they’d come and give it some.
"That kid came on at the end and he showed something, and he reminded me of Nobby Stiles and of Eric Harrison, and the basic principles of being a football player: compete, win your duels, fight for every ball and there was only one kid came on and demonstrated that he had the heart and the soul to play for Manchester United football club tonight."
