Emotional Rio Ferdinand speaks out on Man Utd problems after ‘morbid weekend’

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand described it as a ‘morbid weekend’ for his former club after defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

The Red Devils were beaten 2-0 at home by the Eagles – their 11th league defeat of the season – as they slumped to 13th in the Premier League table.

Jean-Philippe Mateta scored both goals for the visitors on a day which saw Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim field Kobbie Mainoo in the most advanced position, while strikers Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee sat on the bench.

It has also been confirmed this weekend that Marcus Rashford is set to join Aston Villa on loan, leaving his boyhood club for the first time.

Ferdinand spoke out on the situation at the club after defeat to Crystal Palace and sounded extremely downbeat.

‘It’s a sad state of affairs. It’s a bit of a morbid weekend, if I’m honest, we got beat today,’ he said on Rio Ferdinand Presents.

Identifying a string of problems in the game on Sunday, the former England defender said: ‘We weren’t really a threat today. The intensity of the team only really jumps up when we go behind. It’s just flat. I watched us against Rangers and against Fulham, in possession we’re just a flat team, no real ideas of how to play.

‘Teams are now going to Old Trafford with no respect whatsoever. The manager needs to find a way of getting his team through this period, find a way of finding some positives in some games.

‘The team don’t seem to be able to play football properly with the ball, we ain’t got no real idea or real patterns at the moment since this manager’s come in.

‘And we’re not able to defend. We don’t smell danger in defensive areas at times, especially when we’re high up the pitch, it’s just not good enough in all aspects there.’

Ferdinand could pick out no real positives, saying that it is as much a question of effort as it is quality.

‘Hunger is a given. Things that don’t take technique and talent, should be so easy for people, they’re all athletes,’ he said.

‘Running, grafting, reacting, aggression, dedication, being up for it at 3 o’clock every week, these things should just be part of it. You shouldn’t have to ask or question it. That’s a worry, that’s a concern.’

Amorim felt that his team produced a better performance on Sunday than they have in recent games, seeing slight improvements, but admitted that it was still nowhere near good enough.

‘Hard day for the team, for the fans, we lose again,’ he told a post-match press conference. ‘We improve in some areas of the game, we controlled better the game, we had more possession, we had situations, but, in the end, we suffered two goals that we can avoid.

‘I think the performance improve, not a lot, but I think we play better than the other games. Even against Southampton, I think we play better today. But of course, when you continue to lose, especially at home, you have that feeling that it means nothing, the small improvement of the team. So let’s go again and see the next game.’