Gary Neville says Manchester United’s inability to prevent goals is a “horrible place to be” for Michael Carrick’s side as they prepare to return to the Champions League.
United have conceded six goals in their opening three games and are 11th after a 2-2 draw with Everton on Sunday. The result followed a 2-0 defeat by Hull City in their opening match and a convincing 5-2 victory over Ipswich Town at Old Trafford.
Despite that win, Neville believes United’s defensive problems remain a serious concern. The former Manchester United defender says Carrick has already selected his strongest available back four, leaving him with limited options if injuries or substitutions become necessary.
"Conceding goals will hunt them and chase them down the road. I'm not sure how Carrick will deal with it as he's already got his best back four on the pitch. Why did Shaw and Dalot go off with five minutes to go? Ruben Amorim and Erik ten Hag changed their back four too. You can't be changing your back four. There's not much behind the first choice. So you can't change it.
"Manchester United are conceding two goals a game, you can't concede two goals a game. With the questions asked since the transfer window regarding the defence, United needed to win today and they couldn't concede goals. Lazy analysis will say they conceded two spectacular goals.”
Neville also warned that United’s defensive record could affect the mindset of their opponents, with teams increasingly believing they have a realistic chance of scoring against them.
"Teams think they have a chance against them. I played in a Man Utd team where teams, in the period between Peter Schmeichel and Edwin Van Der Sar, did feel they had a chance against us at Old Trafford and we weren't quite good enough defensively.
"Teams have the feeling that they can score. That's a horrible place to be at."
United are due to play their next match on Thursday, when they begin their Champions League campaign against Azerbaijani minnows Sabah. They then face local rivals Manchester City on Sunday.
The criticism comes after Manchester United finished the transfer window with a net spend of £118m. The club brought in Andrey Santos from Chelsea, Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa and Carlos Baleba from Brighton.
However, they did not add any defensive players to their squad. That lack of defensive recruitment is beginning to concern supporters, who fear Carrick may not have enough quality at the back as United enter European competition.
The failure to keep a clean sheet in any of their first three matches has intensified those worries. Neville’s comments underline the pressure facing Carrick, with United needing to improve defensively before their Champions League return and the meeting with Manchester City that follows.