Jamie Carragher has predicted that Manchester United players may leak their criticism of Ralf Rangnick’s tactics from the dressing room after their derby defeat to Manchester City.
The Reds suffered their worst loss under the interim coach after losing 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium, with Kevin De Bruyne and Riyad Mahrez grabbing a brace each to make Jadon Sancho’s goal nothing more than a consolation.
It leaves Man United fighting a losing battle in the race to finish in the Premier League top four, with Arsenal currently a point ahead and with three games in hand.
Tottenham also thrashed Everton 5-0 on Monday to close the gap on Rangnick’s side as the teams enter the final third of the campaign, with their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League now hanging in the balance.
Several players came in for heavy criticism for their poor performances at Old Trafford after Rangnick’s bold attempt at playing a 4-2-2-2 with Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba playing centrally backfired.
And Carragher believes that the defeat will prompt some players to air their concerns about the tactics, almost shifting the blame onto their manager in the process.
"One thing that I think will come out in the next few days is whether those players wanted to play in that way and in that system," Carragher said, speaking on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
"I think when I see any team go with a 4-4-2 against Manchester City away from home, I always fear for them because I don’t understand how you are going to stop City from getting their players in between the lines.
"Straight away, looking at Manchester United and how they set up, they look really tight and compact, you can see the midfield four and defensive four all in position.
"They are a tight compact team looking to make it hard for Manchester City.
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"The problem you are always going to have against this Manchester City team, is because they don’t have a centre forward, is how you are going to stop the players in between the lines.
"You look at those three players in [Kevin] De Bruyne, [Phil] Foden and [Bernardo] Silva already the wrong side of the midfield.”
"We are talking about three of the best midfield players in world football and when you play a 4-4-2, when players pop up in those positions it causes confusion."
It would not be the first time that a leak from the Man United dressing room has made its way to the media after a damaging defeat, with reports of a row between Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo on the training ground surfacing only in February.
And there had already been one leaked story on Monday morning when it emerged that Marcus Rashford was reportedly unhappy with his role as an impact substitute under Rangnick.
The striker, who is out of contract in 2023, is now thought to be considering his options after growing frustrated with his lack of playing time, and the timing of the leak may not be a coincidence after he was brought off the bench.
Gary Neville and Roy Keane were amongst the club’s former players to blast the United squad for their dismal display, with Rashford one of the players singled out for criticism, and Carragher admitted the 24-year-old deserved being targeted.
"When you are 3-1 down, you can’t sit in and you have to try and win the ball back and that is when the pitch gets even bigger," Neville said. "This is what I say and go back to the substitutions, throughout that 15 second passage of play, Marcus Rashford does not move.
"Now the others around him are running ragged, they are probably shattered, certainly the two central midfield players.
"But he lets the ball go inside, and the worst thing for me is Rashford certainly was not the highest player in terms of the press, but now in the clip he is the deepest one there.
"I don’t want to jump on the bandwagon because he is getting a lot of stick, but that is not acceptable."
