Manchester United players are accused of giving up when defeated by Manchester City. City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne gave his assessment.
MU was battered in their visit to City headquarters in the Premier League continued last weekend. The Red Devils lost 1-4 at the Etihad Stadium, Sunday (6/3/2022) night WIB.
MU’s performance in that match, especially in the second half, received sharp criticism. Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane thinks the Red Devils players just gave up.
Judging by the statistics, MU did look helpless in front of City in the second half. Ralf Rangnick’s troops did not open a shot and only made four touches in the opponent’s penalty box.
Although he understands the criticism, Kevin De Bruyne feels that Manchester United did not give up when defeated by City. According to him, MU players are still having trouble adapting to Ralf Rangnick’s style of play.
“It’s difficult to judge, when you play with a pressing style, it’s very difficult to adjust so maybe it looks like they’re giving up,” said De Bruyne as reported by the BBC. ESPN.
“It was very difficult to do that for 90 minutes as a team. The first half was a little bit more difficult, they pushed us higher than usual but in the second half we got the space we needed.”
“I watched the last 10 minutes of the game and it felt like they loosened up a bit, so the space was getting bigger. I’m not going to say they gave up, not necessarily, it’s hard to judge,” said De Bruyne.
(nds/pur)
