Thierry Henry has taken aim at Manchester United’s woeful defending against Newcastle and highlighted a moment from Leny Yoro which he had ‘never seen before’ in football.
The Red Devils slumped to a 4-1 defeat by the hands of Newcastle after a dismal second-half performance at St James’ Park, with Harvey Barnes completing a 15-minute brace before Bruno Guimarees increased the deficit.
Alejandro Garnacho had earlier dragged United back into the competition with a composed finish to cancel out Sandro Tonali’s opener, but that was nearly as good because it got for the visitors on Tyneside.
The defeat leaves United stranded down in 14th place within the table and means the club will end this season with their worst ever points tally in Premier League history, even in the event that they win all six of their remaining matches.
It also ramps up the pressure on Ruben Amorim ahead of United’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon on Thursday night, which represents the side’s last path to Champions League qualification.
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Former United captain Roy Keane ripped into United’s lackadaisical defending within the north east, picking out Diogo Dalot and Altay Bayindir with some especially scathing criticism.
Featuring as a guest on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football, legendary ex-Arsenal striker Henry as a substitute selected to single out Yoro, encouraging viewers to look at the young centre-back’s bizarre body language after Barnes’ second goal.
‘I invite everyone to remain on Leny Yoro. Before everything, he’s going to attempt to play offside,’ Henry said.
‘It’s an awesome finish from Barnes but please stay on Yoro and what he’s asking for… pause.
‘I don’t know what he’s taking a look at. What are you taking a look at? Are you taking a look at the linesman to attempt to see if he’s going to bail you out? I don’t know.
‘I don’t know if he thought there was an offside, I don’t know. All of us comprehend it’s a goal! What are you taking a look at?! I actually don’t know. I’ve never seen that before.’
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Watching back Barnes’ opening strike, Henry again criticised Yoro for failing to trace the Newcastle winger’s run.
‘Diogo Dalot, I don’t know what he saw or what he thought was going to occur,’ the long-lasting former France and Arsenal forward added.
‘Leny Yoro doesn’t return and check out and defend it, they’re second in all the things, the need was one Newcastle’s side.
‘It’s just not ok really.’
Speaking within the wake of United’s humbling loss at Newcastle, a defiant Amorim insisted he ‘didn’t care’ about any criticism coming his way from the media.
‘I understand but I don’t care. Nothing is worse than losing games,’ the Portuguese told reporters.
‘People can say whatever they need to say. I don’t need to defend myself or anything like that.
‘For those who take a look at our position within the table, it says all of it. Thursday is de facto necessary. Losing games is the toughest part by far of this job. Let’s deal with Thursday [against Lyon].’
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