Neville hails Man United's 'unbelievable performance' at Wembley
Gary Neville hails Man United’s ‘unbelievable performance’ in the Carabao Cup final as he compares the triumph to the club’s glory days under Sir Alex Ferguson… and he believes the team can go on and WIN the league if they sign Harry Kane this summer
- Manchester United beat Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday
- Gary Neville felt his former club delivered an ‘unbelievable performance’
- He believes Harry Kane could take them to the title if he moves to Old Trafford
Gary Neville believes his former club Manchester United delivered the perfect Wembley performance to end their six-year wait for a trophy in the Carabao Cup final.
Erik ten Hag’s side lifted the first piece of domestic silverware on offer this season after beating Newcastle 2-0 in the final, with first-half goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford seeing off the Magpies.
Neville has admitted that United’s display wasn’t the prettiest on the eye, but he feels they handled the occasion brilliantly.
‘I thought it was probably as good a cup final performance as you could wish to get at Wembley,’ Neville said on The Overlap.
‘I spoke to one of the United coaches at the end – they were actually disappointed by the fact that they didn’t play the football that they’d expect them to play.
Manchester Uniuted won the Carabao Cup on Sunday to end their six-year wait for silverware
Gary Neville feels United’s players handled the occasion perfectly at Wembley
Neville has compared the team’s recent performances to ones seen under Sir Alex Ferguson
‘But to manage a game in that way, to control it and to show the experience that they did, I thought it was an unbelievable performance. For me, it was really impressive. They were really shrewd and street-wise.’
United’s victory at Wembley came off the back of a win over Barcelona in the Europa League, when Erik ten Hag’s side overturned a half-time deficit in the second leg to move into the last-16.
The turnaround was inspired by a passionate Old Trafford crowd getting right behind the players as United mounted wave after wave of attack.
Neville liked what he saw over the two legs against the Catalan giants and in the win against Newcastle, and has compared those performances to ones that were commonly seen when Sir Alex Ferguson was at the helm.
‘The last two weeks, what I’ve seen against Barcelona and what I saw in that final on Sunday was for me what I thought Manchester United was under Sir Alex Ferguson,’ Neville continued.
‘That we’d win games in different ways. It would be electric, it could be counter-attacking, it could be resilient, it could be defensive, it could be deep, compact, it could be aggressive, it could be nasty like Martinez and Casemiro were at times on Sunday.
‘I never want him to change the way we played in these last couple of weeks. I have no aspiration as a United fan to watch anything other than what I’ve watched in these last couple of weeks which is fight, spirit, toughness, speed of attacking, electricity on the pitch, that connection with the fans where you can see there’s that feeling there. To me, that is United.
‘I don’t expect or want any more, and I hope that we don’t go down the route of bringing in players in the summer that take us down more of the possession path.’
United are still involved in three competitions, with Ten Hag making it clear that he wants more silverware after picking up his first trophy at the club.
The Red Devils find themselves eight points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League, and Neville has previously claimed they will not win the title.
Looking ahead, he thinks they can take the next step and become the best side in England once more if they sign Harry Kane this summer.
Casemiro has made a major impact at United since arriving at Real Madrid last summer
Neville thinks Harry Kane could make a similar impact if he moves to Old Trafford
Neville acknowledges that Kane will be 30 in July, but has pointed to how Casemiro arrived at a similar age last year and has gone on to make a huge difference to the team.
‘Casemiro, £60-70m, £20m-a-year for five years, that is a £170m investment. That is a massive investment. It is not a smart or shrewd signing – none of us thought that,’ Neville said.
‘But the impact that he’s having in the short-term and what Manchester United need now, he’s devastating for the club in an unbelievable way.
‘Harry Kane, I think he is the type of player that could take you to the title. He will just connect the whole midfield, the top of the pitch, he’ll score goals, the fans will love him, the players will love him, I don’t see how you could go wrong. It’s just that he is in the latter part of his career.’
Source: Read Full Article