Micah Richards claims Man Utd ‘played with 10 men’ against Liverpool due to ‘lazy’ starlet

Micah Richards has slammed Manchester United winger Antony for his unwillingness to defend against Liverpool, stating the Red Devils were forced to play with 10 men due to the Brazilian forward’s questionable positioning. The BBC analyst was surprised by Diogo Dalot’s lack of communication with the £86 million summer acquisition from Ajax, who failed to assist his full-back as Andy Robertson sped forward to set up Liverpool’s opening goal at Anfield.

Robertson had a good afternoon for Liverpool, setting the tone with his persistent runs upfield and determination to press Manchester United.

Yet his dedication to the cause was not matched by his marker Antony, who appeared to choose not to track back to neutralize the Scotsman as Liverpool profited down the sides.

Cody Gakpo scored shortly before halftime and added a second after the interval, while Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah also scored braces before Roberto Firmino added a seventh.

Nevertheless, for Richards, Antony’s refusal to defend mirrored United’s troubles – something he simply couldn’t get his head around.

“There was no communication between Diogo Dalot and Antony,” Richards remarked on MOTD2.

“At times, it was like they were playing with 10 guys because Antony wasn’t doing his task at all down that side.

“I didn’t know if it was tactical at first – Antony’s stance – but we all know how excellent Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are so you would assume someone would try to get closer to Antony.

“He didn’t track him, to begin with – he was eight meters away – and that was only a foreshadowing of what was to come.”

“Antony needs to return to that role, but he just doesn’t do it. I couldn’t tell if he was being lazy for his team or if his management was telling him to stay up there and be a threat on the counter-attack.

“In any case, it kept happening and happening. He simply walks away when they lose the ball. We’re talking about one of Manchester United’s most important games.”

Jadon Sancho was an unused replacement for Manchester United and will now attempt to fight his way back into the starting lineup for Thursday’s Europa League match against Real Betis.

Alejandro Garnacho, who came off the bench in the second half to replace the England international, will also be eager for additional minutes.

Erik ten Hag calls the performance “unprofessional,” and he challenges his United teammates to make things right while he seeks his own answers.

“It was a pretty awful performance, the worst of the year,” Ten Hag lamented. “We lost the game at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, but you have to keep your head up, and we didn’t.

“It’s all about displaying discipline and we didn’t, so that’s when you start surrendering goals.