Manchester United fell through the ice in the away match against Newcastle United. That is the clear conclusion of Ron Vlaar, who was particularly critical of the lack of cooperation within Erik ten Hag's team.
The former Aston Villa defender, who played 79 matches in the Premier League, was, at times, amazed by the disorganization within The Red Devils as he analyzed the game for ViaPlay on Saturday night.
'I really watched Manchester United with amazement today. The teamwork within that team is completely off,' said Vlaar shortly after the final whistle.
In the closing stages, the visitors from Manchester were close to scoring with a 1-0 scoreline, with an attempt from Sergio Reguilón. Additionally, a goal from Antony was disallowed for offside due to Harry Maguire, who deflected the shot. Until the final minutes, United had hardly posed a threat. Vlaar remarked, 'In the last minutes, I suddenly see some energy. Then I think, why not start with that a bit earlier? More opportunistic, more direct. They do have good players, but it doesn't come together at all.'
The 32-time international thought that captain Bruno Fernandes seemed frustrated. 'It's interesting to pay attention to body language. You can tell a lot from that. Fernandes kicked someone in a duel who was not at all involved in the game. That was telling,' said Vlaar, who wasn't surprised that Ten Hag substituted Marcus Rashford after an hour. 'Rashford has been out of form for a while now. I think his first five ball contacts were all losses. In the end, I believe Ten Hag waited quite long.'
