Neville Slams Manchester United's Effort as 'Disgrace' After Fulham Draw

Gary Neville launched a scathing critique of Manchester United's performance during their 1-1 Premier League draw with Fulham, labeling the team's lack of effort as an "absolute disgrace" and "pathetic."

Matheus Cunha's deflected goal in the 89th minute salvaged a point for United, but even the scorer acknowledged the team's insufficient energy. "In the second half it was like they put in more energy than us," Cunha stated. "We cannot accept this. We always play better after conceding a goal, and it cannot be like this."

United now holds their joint-lowest point total after five games of the season in the Premier League era, sitting in 12th place. Neville, speaking on Sky Sports, expressed his disappointment, particularly with the first hour of the match. "I've watched Man United since the age of five and that's the worst 15 minutes I've ever seen. Absolutely pathetic. I've never seen such a lack of effort," he said. "There needs to be a reset in terms of structure. They don't want to do the ugly part of the game. I've never seen a Manchester United team walk as much as that."

Michael Carrick, the team's manager, defended his players, suggesting they created enough chances to win and that the game's outcome was influenced by an unfortunate deflection on Fulham's goal. "We should have won the game, we created enough. We had a lot of good play," Carrick told Sky Sports. He highlighted the performance of Fulham's goalkeeper Bernd Leno, who made five saves, including three described as "top saves." "That tells you how much we worked him. We hit the post twice and had a lot of opportunities," Carrick added.

Carrick also pushed back against the suggestion that his team was passive, particularly in the second half. When informed that the team had no shots in the first 15 minutes after halftime, he responded, "That doesn't mean we were passive. It's the Premier League, you're going to have spells where you don't have it all your own way." He affirmed his satisfaction with the team's energy levels.

Fulham's manager, Alvaro Arbeloa, was denied his first Premier League win and felt that the referee favored Manchester United. "There were so many things for them. Every decision was for them," Arbeloa claimed. "I knew after the game against Manchester City that they (referees) don't like Manchester United to lose."

Despite 25 shots on goal, Manchester United conceded an unfortunate equalizer when Calvin Bassey's shot deflected off Lisandro Martinez and Senne Lammens. The team's struggles mean they head into the international break with significant questions surrounding their performance and effort levels.