Gary Neville believes Michael Carrick missed a trick by not introducing Benjamin Sesko sooner in the Manchester derby. Manchester United found themselves down to ten men for over an hour after Phil Foden's dismissal, yet they succumbed to a narrow 0-1 defeat against Manchester City.
Neville urged United not to dwell on refereeing decisions, despite Pro Ref's admission that Erling Haaland's winning goal should have been disallowed.
The former United defender stated:
We hope they’re not fixating on the officials’ decisions but instead focusing on how to improve their game. You can’t give players or anyone else excuses.
They need to figure out what to do next time their opponent is down to ten men. You mustn’t run out of ideas or play with complacency and move the ball slowly.
Neville also scrutinised Carrick's decisions during the match. Matheus Cunha started up front, while Sesko only made his entrance in the 67th minute, replacing Youri Tielemans.
Neville commented:
I think Carrick will look back and realise that changes could have come sooner. It was clear by the 25-minute mark that even against ten men, the plan wasn’t clicking.
In my opinion, Sesko should have come on right after half-time to add some firepower up front. It was obvious the strategy needed adjusting.
Ultimately, the substitution was only made in the 67th minute, leaving Sesko with about 25 minutes to make an impact. I’m sure they'll review these moments carefully. That’s their focus moving forward.
The only goal of the match came from Haaland in the 60th minute, marking City’s fourth consecutive win to start the Premier League season.
