Neville was critical of the changes made to Manchester United’s starting line-up in the quarterfinal defeat
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On the back of a positive week, Manchester United went into the FA Cup quarterfinals against Leicester City as the favourite. But the Red Devils failed to live up to the expectations and crashed out of the tournament with a 3-1 defeat. Among the many talking points was the number of changes manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made to the starting line-up. United’s two most in-form players – Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw – were benched as the team failed to maintain their recent momentum.
Former Manchester United skipper Gary Neville questioned Solskjaer’s decision to make so many changes in a crucial clash. Speaking on the Gary Neville podcast with Sky Sports, the ex-player said, “Been a good week, not surprising they go to Milan and do what they did because they are good away from home. Beating West Ham last week, and then I’m surprised that the team has been rotated so much.”
Neville reckoned FA Cup was a huge opportunity for Solskjaer to win a trophy this season. “I know he has been doing that, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but this was a real chance,” he added. The former right-back believed the semifinal draw also came in United’s favour, saying “You think about the semifinal draw that occurred at half time in that game, which meant the winner played Southampton. It’s not a gimme against Southampton in the semifinal by any stretch of the imagination but what an opportunity.”
Stressing on the importance of a trophy, he further said, “And I do believe that group of players need to win a trophy under Solskjaer. Yes, of course, finishing second would be the priority at the start of the season, and winning a trophy will now be the priority with that, they only have the Europa League left but that was a real good one today.” Unable to hide his disappointment, Neville added, “I am demoralised a little bit tonight as a United fan because I do feel that was a really good one to go for this season.”
