When Manchester United lost to Newcastle United in their Premier League match at St. James’ Park on Sunday afternoon, their already awful season took a further turn for the worse. Sandro Tonali opened the scoring after 24 minutes, putting the Red Devils down, who had entered the match as massive underdogs.
Alejandro Garnacho restored parity as United rallied and managed to tie the score shortly before halftime. However, they were outplayed in the second half, as Newcastle won 4-1 thanks to goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Harvey Barnes.
On Monday Night Football, Thierry Henry and Jamie Carragher criticised United’s defence throughout the match, with the former criticising his compatriot Leny Yoro.
Leny Yoro is criticised by Thierry Henry for his actions against Newcastle.
His defence left him perplexed.
Yoro, who is considered to be among the top young players in international football, was singled out by Henry for criticism following Newcastle’s third goal. Barnes regained possession from Noussair Mazraoui in his own half in the 64th minute, easily drove past Victor Lindelof and the 19-year-old, and then smashed the ball past Altay Bayindir.
After Barnes reached the back of the net, the Arsenal veteran scolded Yoro for his attempt on goal and for staring directly at the linesman. “Leny Yoro doesn’t go back to try and defend,” he remarked. Newcastle had the will to succeed. They simply don’t measure up.
“Barnes’ ambition should never be accomplished. Hold on to Yoro. I have no idea why. What he is staring at is unknown to me. I’m not sure, but are you glancing at the linesman to see whether he will save you?
I’m not sure whether he believed there was an offside. It’s a goal, as we all know. What do you see? Actually, I’m not sure. That is something I have never seen.
Not impressed either, Jamie Carragher remarked, “How horrible are Manchester United? Manchester United, they are completely lacking. Two defenders are pursuing Harvey Barnes after his initial touch, and two more are there before he reaches the goal.
“You can’t believe it is conceivable at any level of football, whether it’s the Premier League or under-five children, if I tell you today that he will take up the ball and score here without being challenged. Starting in Barnes’ starting position and finishing there (in the box) without a challenge is unacceptable. There isn’t much else we can say about them.
After receiving criticism from United supporters, Sky Sports removed the video that they had initially uploaded to their X (previously Twitter) account. Henry’s remarks were described as “bizarre” by one fan and as “embarrassing” by another.
United’s next game is a critical Europa League quarterfinal second leg match against Lyon at Old Trafford on Thursday. Whether Yoro, who has started United’s last four games, will continue to start is still up in the air.
xz
