Roy Keane claimed that the difference in class between Manchester City and Manchester United was “unbelievable” following the Red Devils’ 2-0 home defeat on Saturday.
Manchester United dropped points for the fourth time in their last five Premier League outings to leave the Red Devils outside of the top four heading into the international break.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were largely outplayed in front of their home supporters on Saturday lunchtime as City went in 2-0 up at half-time following Eric Bailly’s own goal and Bernardo Silva’s close-range finish just before half-time.
Manchester United, who were without the suspended Paul Pogba and the injured Raphael Varane, could only muster one shot on target during the game and were limited to just 32 per cent possession.
The result left the Red Devils nine points behind leaders Chelsea FC after 11 games of the new campaign and turned up the pressure on manager Solskjaer.
Former Manchester United captain Keane was not at all impressed by what he saw from the home side on Saturday and claimed that the Red Devils were made to pay by the far superior team.
“It felt worse [than the 5-0 defeat by Liverpool FC],” Keane said on Sky Sports after the game. “The goal just before half-time meant it was game all over.
“Man City are a different type of team to Liverpool. They were quite happy just to keep the ball and they just toyed with Man United.
“It was so poor. The difference in class, quality and decision making, basically everything.
“I know the old saying is men vs boys, but United are so off it, it’s unbelievable.”
Reflecting on the result, Solskjaer admitted that his team need to be more aggressive.
“It’s disappointing, of course,” said Solskjaer. “It’s hard to talk at the moment. We play against a good team, don’t forget that, but we were nowhere near what our standards and levels can be and that’s something we have to get back to.
“We’ve got to go back to being on the front foot, be more aggressive, maybe circumstances have made us a little bit more cautious and passive.”