Neville: Manchester United's Defensive Problems Are Here to Stay

Gary Neville says he doesn't see an easy fix for Manchester United's leaky defence after they conceded two more goals in a 2-2 draw with Everton on Sunday, capped by a stoppage-time equaliser from Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

The result means United have now conceded twice in each of their first three Premier League games this season. They sit 11th in the table with one win, one draw and one loss, leaving manager Michael Carrick with a growing problem to solve.

Speaking on his podcast, Neville said the numbers don't lie. "Manchester United are conceding two goals a game," he said. "From a United perspective you can't concede two goals a game, they're on track to concede 76 goals. They won't do, but the one thing that I think needed to happen beyond the transfer window with the questions that have been asked about the defence was that Manchester United needed to win today and secondly they couldn't concede goals."

Neville was particularly critical of how United allowed Everton's late leveller to happen, pointing to poor shape and lapses in concentration as the game entered its final minutes. "There's a lot that happens before that goal goes in the back of Manchester United's net," he said. 

"Dorgu sprints forward, the ball gets played past him and Everton just drift down that left side so easily. Santos doesn't get across and when he doesn't get across quickly enough Yoro is deep and narrow, almost playing like a third or fourth narrow centre back waiting for the ball to go into the box. So they could have stopped it at source."

He added that United's lack of discipline in the closing stages made the goal feel almost inevitable. "I was screaming as it happened because you know full well you're going to get the ball pumped into the box and you're going to get a team behind desperate in the last few minutes so you have to make sure you're organised and United weren't organised in that last couple of minutes."

Neville also questioned United's mentality after going ahead, saying the team eased off instead of pushing for a second goal. "I thought they were a little bit complacent," he said. "Everton weren't at it at all in that first half. United were the better team and didn't have that killer instinct up top and certainly from 1-0 up to 1-1 they let Everton back in the game."

Looking ahead, Neville said he's worried the issue won't fix itself, especially with United's options limited at the back. "I don't think it's going to go away and that's my big fear," he said. "I think conceding goals is going to chase them and hunt them down the road and I don't know how Michael deals with it because he's got his best back four on the pitch."

He also flagged a tactical question mark over two late substitutions. "I don't know why Luke Shaw went off with five minutes to go, hopefully he's not injured. I don't know why Dalot went off with five minutes to go." Neville said United, unlike some sides, don't have strength in depth to rotate the back line during matches. "United have got a back four of Shaw, Dalot, Maguire and Lisandro Martinez and they've not got much behind that. So you can't really change your back four at 1-0 or 2-1."

Carrick was also critical of his defence after the game and admitted the team needs to tighten up. "We need to concede fewer goals to give us a better chance of winning games," he said. "We'll certainly look at that and keep improving. There's obviously things we need to get better at as a team. There's been two strikes from distance really, two really good strikes from their point of view. Sometimes they fly in the top corner and more often than not they probably don't."

With injuries limiting his options at centre back, Carrick's choices remain thin. United will next face Sabah FK in the Champions League before a Manchester derby against City the following weekend.