Roy Keane was quick to highlight Manchester United's disastrous start against Aston Villa, calling it a nightmare opening after the home side fell 2-0 behind inside the first five minutes at Old Trafford.
The former Manchester United captain, speaking as a Sky Sports pundit, said United never got going and pointed to the early tempo from Aston Villa as well as the defensive errors that handed them a dream start.
Keane on United's collapse
Keane said the goalkeeper had to do better and described the opening as a nightmare for United. He noted that Villa looked sharp, with a set-piece, a nice lay-off and a shot on target leading to the first goal. His view was that the keeper should have dealt with the situation more cleanly.
He also added that Villa probably could not believe their luck, before saying they had been given a helping hand to get back into the game. That summed up the mood around a first half in which Manchester United were chasing the match almost immediately.
Ashley Young points to Lammens and Dalot
Ashley Young was equally direct in his criticism. He said Senne Lammens did not cover himself in glory on the opening goal and referenced a mistake the goalkeeper had made before the World Cup, adding that he has not looked the same as he did last season.
Young also singled out Diogo Dalot for the second goal, saying he had to defend his goal and slide in. In Young's view, Dalot was going with his opposite foot, and that split-second hesitation helped Aston Villa punish United again before the five-minute mark.
The criticism mattered because it came in the middle of a collapse that left Manchester United 2-0 down almost instantly. The hosts did recover, with Bruno Fernandes and Youri Tielemans scoring before half-time to make it 2-2, but the early damage forced them to spend the rest of the match chasing the game.
Manchester United's response was eventually enough to salvage a point, with Joshua Zirkzee and Patrick Dorgu scoring late in stoppage time. Even so, the early sequence was the story: two goals in less than five minutes, criticism of Lammens and Dalot, and a warning sign that United's defensive issues remain impossible to ignore.
