Gary Neville finally got a chance to revel in the glory of a victory against Jamie Carragher’s Liverpool, and he went off on one player in particular, who Man Utd made look like a “10-year-old”.
The team selection from Ruben Amorim aged wonderfully, because they won, of course, because it was not the most popular XI when it was announced.
Ultimately, that worked in Amorim’s favour because he had a leg up on Arne Slot from that very moment, who was expecting something entirely different.
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The main victim of that shock was a player who, according to Gary Neville, looked “all over the place” vs United after being ruthlessly targeted.
Photo by Michael Regan/Getty ImagesGary Neville goes off on Milos Kerkez
Milos Kerkez is not a name that is new for Man Utd fans, because he was linked to the club repeatedly, even in the summer window when United already had Patrick Dorgu.
Kerkez ultimately joined Liverpool in a prized capture of a proven Premier League quantity, the sort of profile United were going for as well.
The Hungarian has struggled with the step up to Liverpool, however, which is why Amorim made it a point to target him by playing both Amad and Bryan Mbeumo on that side.
Amorim’s plan came to fruition as Kerkez was given the runaround by United, with their opener coming from his side rattling him from the first minute.
Neville, speaking on Sky Sports, went off on the player while giving United their flowers.
He said: “I said on this podcast, I think three weeks ago, [Milos Kerkez] plays like a 10-year-old left back. He’s all over the place [against Man Utd too].”
He went on to add that Virgil Van Dijk also had one of his worst games in a Liverpool shirt, vindicating Amorim’s decision to give him a different challenge by playing Matheus Cunha instead of Benjamin Sesko.
Kerkez was made to look poor by Amad and Bryan Mbeumo
Neville is correct in saying that Kerkez looked like a 10-year-old left-back in terms of his maturity on the ball and his composure, but it shouldn’t take credit away from United.
Kerkez has struggled this season, but Amorim identified that pain point perfectly and overloaded that side to create a nightmare matchup for him.
Matthijs de Ligt even accepted after the match that they identified their full-backs as their weakness, which is why they focused so many of their attacks out wide.
It often happens that a player in the rut of his life suddenly finds form against United, but here, Amorim’s tactics and Amad and Mbeumo’s game ensured there was no respite for Kerkez.
A soft spot in that defence was repeatedly hammered to break down by United in a masterclass of planning and execution.