Wayne Rooney does not believe Manchester United have the consistency or the solidity to finish in the top four this season, while Rio Ferdinand fears for them against Liverpool next weekend.
The Red Devils closed the gap to fifth-placed Tottenham to just three points thanks to a 2-0 victory over Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday â though Spurs now have two games in hand, starting against fourth-placed Aston Villa on Sunday.
United gave a rather scrappy performance against the Toffees despite winning, conceding 23 shots, and were indebted to Alejandro Garnacho for winning two first-half penalties â which were dispatched by Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
Despite the win, Ferdinand feels United are reliant on the teams above them dropping points while Rooney is even more pessimistic and feels his old club are not performing well enough to sustain a top-four challenge.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Ferdinand said: âI think Man United will be sitting there watching [Villa vs Tottenham] thinking, âPlease be a draw!â They donât want either of those teams pulling away.
âBut I think Man United right now need to just think about themselves. Chalk the wins off now and just hope the teams above them start dropping points at some point.
âSo Man United have unfortunately put themselves in this position now and theyâre going to have to rely on other people to have a chance of qualifying for the Champions League.â
United have now faced 134 shots in their last six games and when asked if that level of fragility at the back is sustainable in a top-four race, Rooney replied: âNo, and I think thatâs what weâve seen throughout the season.
âI donât think Manchester United will make the top four, because they have to almost win every game.
âI think theyâre a team that are very inconsistent and I canât see them winning every game, so I think itâs going to be very difficult.
âToday I think it was 20-odd chances against them, but there were no clear-cut chances for Everton. But itâs too many. Thereâs too many gaps, itâs too easy for teams to get opportunities against them.â
Ferdinand chimed back in: âYou canât keep doing that at this level. You can get away with it for games here and there but in the end youâre going to get caught and youâre going to get punched.
âUnfortunately, Man United are not a team that dominates enough of the ball to stop teams at the moment. Yes, like Wayne said, the chances given up werenât clear-cut, but the way you play football is about stopping the opposition from having any type of chance on goal.
âListen, theyâre gonna play against Liverpool [in the FA Cup quarter-final]. If they play like that against Liverpool, that open, with those spaces. The spaces around Casemiro were huge.
âIf they do that, and they have transitions like they had against Everton today, youâre playing against better finishers, more confident finishers and more efficient in Liverpool players, it will be a different story at the end of the game.â
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE : Wayne Rooney compares âincredibleâ Kobbie Mainoo to Bastian Schweinsteiger
MORE : Gabriel Martinelli set to miss Arsenalâs Premier League clash with Brentford
MORE : Erik ten Hag reveals reason why Manchester United ended Sergio Reguilon loan
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
