This was the sort of draw that leaves Manchester United with a point and a problem. Twice they led at Everton, twice they were pulled back, and by the end the familiar complaint was impossible to ignore: this team is conceding goals far too easily. Gary Neville did not dress it up, and nor should he. When a side concedes two goals in three games running, the issue is no longer a blip. It is becoming a habit.
Manchester United had the goals to take control through Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, but that only made the collapse more irritating. In added time, Ainsley Maitland-Niles struck from 25 yards on his Everton debut to complete the comeback and leave Michael Carrick's side with four points from three matches. For Carrick, that may still count as a decent start. For Neville, it was evidence of a defensive liability that simply is not going away.
Needing answers, not excuses
Neville's criticism was blunt for a reason. He pointed out that Manchester United are conceding two goals a game, which is not the profile of a side with serious ambitions. He also linked the problem to the questions raised since the transfer window over the defence, and that is where the pressure now sits. If the back line was supposed to look more secure, it has done the opposite.
The timing makes the problem worse. Manchester United have a European game in midweek and Man City next week, which means there is no luxury of a quiet reset. These are the matches that expose whether a team can defend under pressure or whether it is simply waiting for the next lapse. Right now, the evidence is not flattering.
That is why the conversation around Jarrad Branthwaite matters so much. When a team keeps giving up cheap goals, every defensive discussion becomes louder, sharper and less forgiving. Neville's point was not that one player alone can fix everything. It was that Manchester United's current liability is too obvious to ignore, and far too expensive to keep carrying.
Carrick may prefer to focus on the positives and insist the start has not been that bad. But the scoreboard tells a harsher truth. Four points from three matches is one thing; six goals conceded in the same span is another. Until that changes, Manchester United will keep making life harder for themselves than it needs to be.
