Lee Sharpe feels Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo was ‘off the pace’ during the 3-1 Premier League defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils lost at home yet again on Sunday, with head coach Ruben Amorim declaring his side ‘the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United’ in an astonishing post-match admission.
Goalkeeper Andre Onana made a huge error during the game but he was not the only United star to underperform, with former Red Devils winger Sharpe calling out three players in his punditry work for Stadium Astro.
Sharpe singled out young midfielder Mainoo for criticism along with United full-backs Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui.
‘Poor again,’ Sharpe said of United’s performance. ‘Watching the Arsenal and Liverpool games, you think they are realising the kind of standards they have to reach and how hard they have to work.
‘Then today, one shot on target and one goal. The goalkeeper (Onana) doesn’t do you any favours but it wasn’t good enough all-round really.
‘There’s a lack of confidence. A deep-rooted lack of confidence. People are taking an extra touch when they don’t need to.
‘Taking a split second [too much] to think about where they are passing the ball to. It’s not free-flowing or natural.
‘They’re giving the ball away cheaply and being caught in possession. They didn’t create enough changes going forward.
‘A little unrest and disorganisation defensively. The midfield got caught out a little bit today.
‘I thought Mainoo looked off the pace. The two full backs, Dalot and Mazraoui, didn’t have particularly great games [either].
‘You need them to get forward and help out, they didn’t really do that. It was disappointing.’
United have lost 10 of their 22 Premier League games this season, the earliest into a league campaign that they have hit double figures for defeats since 1989-90 under former boss Sir Alex Ferguson.