'Unforgivable' - Rio Ferdinand blasts 'embarrassing' Manchester United as Everton dominate in first half

At 2-0 down at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon, Manchester United were staring defeat against Everton in the face. Speaking to TNT Sports, former United defender Rio Ferdinand said that there was a lack of conviction and leadership amongst the back line of Ruben Amorim's club. Everton striker Beto scored first after poor work from United at a corner.

Rio Ferdinand said that Manchester United defended with "zero conviction" in an "embarrassing" first half against Everton, and made some "unforgivable" errors.

United went into the break 2-0 down, with the 19th-minute opener from the home side highlighting the disparity in "fight" between the two sides.

Everton have been on a sterling run since David Moyes’ return to Goodison Park, but Ruben Amorim has been unable to turn around United’s fortunes after replacing Erik ten Hag.

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Everton’s in-form striker Beto finished off a corner after countless United players had failed to clear the ball, and former United defender Ferdinand questioned the leadership and determination of the team.

He said: "We said they were going to have to come out and roll their sleeves up, because Everton would come out fighting.

"Man Utd haven’t done that. They’ve been pressed, they’ve been harried. They haven't been able to deal with the press at all.

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Video credit: TNT Sports

"They have chance after chance to clear the ball. Zero conviction, no-one taking over the situation."

He added: "You’ve got to fight. You don’t come to Everton at this place, whatever form they’re in, and think you can roll them over easily. Man Utd have not understood that assignment from the first whistle."

Ferdinand also said that he wanted Amorim to make sure the United players knew they were not playing to the level required.

"I hope he went absolutely ballistic at the players. They were out-run, out-fought, out-jumped, every single department of the game. They were second best," he said.

Later, Ferdinand suggested that the current side could be the worst he had ever seen.

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He added: "I don't know if I've seen a United team this bad. It's been embarrassing in all different facets of the game.

"Yes, we can talk about quality, you talk about talent etc, but one thing that's unforgivable is a lack of fight and desire, not getting near people. That's what we've seen.

"Manchester United need to look at this Everton team and take examples from it: to track back, to run in transitions, every second ball a blue shirt gets to it first. It's embarrassing to sit here and watch."

Sitting alongside him in the TNT Sports studio, former Everton forward and coach Duncan Ferguson agreed, saying: "Everton just wanted it more - second ball, third ball. Poor, poor [from] Man Utd."

Before the players came out for the second half, Ferguson said he thought they needed to show more initiative for the away fans.

He stated: "They were incredibly passive in that first-half. They've got to be more aggressive."

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