Gary Neville calls out two Man United players who must ‘work harder’ and says the whole team ‘don’t look like they’ve ever met each other’ after his former side dropped more Premier League points in 1-1 draw with Chelsea

Gary Neville reluctantly singled out two players as he dug into Manchester United’s performance in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Old Trafford.

Sunday’s result means United have now dropped 18 points in their first ten Premier League games this season and currently sit in thirteenth place.

The stalemate was Ruud van Nistelrooy’s second game as United’s interim manager, six days after former boss Erik ten Hag was sacked.

Ten Hag was the fifth permanent manager United have had since Sir Alex Ferguson’s glorious 26-year reign ended in 2013.

Ruben Amorim will be sixth on November 11 and Neville – who played his entire senior club career at United during the Ferguson era – is desperate for a marked improvement.

Commenting on his old side’s performance against Chelsea, the former right-back continued The Gary Neville Podcast on Sunday night: “After twenty minutes you realized it was the same old, same old. You can’t explain it. There have been five or six managers now since Sir Alex Ferguson and we talk about the same things.

‘Manchester United played like an underdog team at times. They sat on the edge of their own penalty area and watched a counter-attack from 70 to 80 yards.’

Neville then turned his attention to Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, both of whom started Sunday’s match as attacking wide players in United’s 4-2-3-1 formation.

“I’m not going to dig out Rashford and Garnacho… but I will,” Neville continued. ‘Because they are two players who have come through the ranks. There’s some honor involved… the fact that you’re an academy player and therefore get a certain amount of buy-in from the fans. So there is enthusiasm for them. Obviously Rashford has been in the team for a few years and Garnacho has been in the team for a few years or so.

‘But when I look [Bukayo] Sake and [Leandro] Trossard and [Gabriel] Martinelli [playing for Arsenal]and when I look at Bernardo Silva and [Phil] Foden for Man City, or I look at players at Liverpool, I see them all running back, dropping back and doubling with real intent.

‘But I looked [Chelsea right back Malo] Gusto ran forward on the other side… we couldn’t believe how much space he got.

‘The first ethic is that you have to work hard. I’m not saying Garnacho and Rashford don’t work hard, but they can work harder. I know that. That’s in their defensive work, which I think gives you the reward in your attacking game.

‘I played with the likes of Andrei Kanchelskis, David Beckham and of course Ryan Giggs on the other side for most of the time I was at United. And the work they did off the ball meant the reward came for the team on the ball.

‘There is no doubt that the harder you work, the luckier you get and the more life goes for you.

‘They think they work hard, they think they are committed. I understand that confidence and belief are not high, they have lost their manager, the team is not in a good place, I understand all that.

‘I never had to go through all that at United and I don’t know what it’s like to play in this era. But we have to get back to the idea that you are actually all in it together on that field. And Garnacho and Rashford, I have to point to them today and say that I think they can do a lot more without the ball. Much more.

‘I don’t care what they do with the ball. To be honest, I’m really not. I’m curious to see if there is a spirit to fight for the team throughout the match. And I’m not saying they played bad today or anything. But I see the other wide players in the league doing a lot more than them.

‘They have no idea how to press. I think they need coaching again, almost like they need to restart and be coached again, this group of players, because it seems like they’ve never met each other before.

‘It’s really disappointing. Player after player has come to United for a decade – and managers – and they have failed to open the door that is just a level of performance.”

Garnacho played the full 90 minutes on Sunday, while Rashford was substituted in the 72nd minute. Garnacho touched the ball 42 times and made four shots, while Rashford had 37 touches and two shots.

Neither player made a key pass that led to a chance, while neither made any tackles or interceptions between them.

Despite United’s disappointing performance, the home side took the lead on Sunday when Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty in the 70th minute following goalkeeper Robert Sanchez’s foul on Rasmus Hojlund.

But Chelsea were level less than five minutes later when Moises Caicedo scored his first goal of the season.

Van Nistelrooy now has two games left as interim manager. The first comes on Thursday evening in the Europa League against FK Bodo/Glimt. Three days later, United hosts Leicester in the Premier League.