Gary Neville warns Man Utd must be 'more difficult to play against'

Ex-Manchester United captain Gary Neville has warned that his former team need to become ‘more difficult to play against’ after watching Sunday’s collapse against Leeds in the Premier League.

United were leading 2-0 early in the second half at Elland Road, before quickfire goals from Rodrigo and Raphinha in successive minutes brought it back to 2-2.

Fortunately for Ralf Rangnick’s team, Leeds naively left them enough space to score twice more and ultimately win the game 4-2. But Neville has warned they won’t be afforded that kind of second chance in upcoming clashes with Liverpool, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid.

“Manchester United have got to become more difficult to play against,” he told Sky Sports.

“They are playing Atletico Madrid away on Wednesday; they have got Tottenham, Liverpool, Manchester City coming up. It is a big month and that month is going to define the season in terms of finishing in the top four and progressing in the Champions League.

“They have got to stop those mad moments, those five-minute periods where they concede two goals, because if you concede two against City, Liverpool or Atletico, you are out of the game. I think this [the game against Leeds] is a warning sign.”

United have only managed six clean sheets in 26 Premier League games this season and have conceded more goals than almost every other team in the top half, as well as 19th place Burnley.

David de Gea has also made the most saves of any Premier League goalkeeper this season (96), highlighting just how many chances United are giving up in games.

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