‘criminal’ Manchester United first-half collapse against Liverpool

Manchester United’s “criminal” first-half defense against Liverpool in the FA Cup has drawn criticism from Roy Keane.
Scott McTominay gave United the lead with a deft move down the left. Shortly after, the Scotland international had a chance to double the lead, but Caoimhin Kelleher made a great diving save to keep him out of the scoring zone.
Two goals at the quarterfinal changed the course of the match for Jurgen Klopp’s team. the first half’s halfway point. After a deflection off Kobbie Mainoo, Alexis Mac Allister scored his third goal in as many games. Two minutes into added time, Mohamed Salah gave the visitors the lead. Keane criticized United’s defense for lacking energy, singling out Marcus Rashford after Jarell Quansah ran by him to score the equalizer just before halftime.

The former United midfielder said, “It was coming, it’s been the biggest worry for United this season – they’ve been so open.” “It’s called game-management; they need someone to sit. Liverpool is becoming more formidable, but United needs to get someone in behind them to shield the back four. “To surrender the opportunities, they have players back here (Mac Allister equalizer), but Rashford, my God, the passion of the attacker—you’re talking about an FA Cup quarterfinal—gets to everyone.
“For Liverpool, it’s much too easy to get to him, but before that, there wasn’t enough aggression; having the numbers back doesn’t mean anything if they aren’t aggressive. You have to be proactive. “Go in at 1-1, game-management, if you’re on the ropes you may come out in the second half. This is injury time (Salah 2-1). Liverpool hasn’t played well offensively, but they will pay a price if you let them time and room in these areas. It’s criminal for United to play from behind during injury time.”
Liverpool “cut through them at will” and Graeme Souness chastised Erik ten Hag’s team, before Keane said, “Liverpool have done very little, it’s been too easy.”
“United needs to exercise extreme caution in the second half as things could turn ugly.” “I hope the players have belief they can get back into the game,” the manager said prior to kickoff.