Rio Ferdinand believes one Manchester United player “shouldn’t be at the club” after losing to Manchester City.
City defeated United 3-1 in the 192nd Manchester derby on Sunday.
United took a surprising lead early on with a brilliant shot from Marcus Rashford, but City turned the game around with two goals from Phil Foden and a late finish from Erling Haaland. It was the second league loss in a row for Erik ten Hag’s team.
United struggled to create chances and defended deep for most of the match, but some fans thought City could have scored more than three goals. Ten Hag had to cope with several injuries to important players, especially in the centre of defence, where Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire were both missing.
Jonny Evans, who returned to the club last summer, replaced them in the starting line-up. It was his 17th Premier League appearance of the season.
The 36-year-old defender left Old Trafford in 2015, but he came back to add depth and experience to the defence.
However, he has played more than anyone expected this season, including his former colleague Rio Ferdinand. The United legend praised Evans, but he said he doesn’t think he should be playing for the club.
“I didn’t expect him to come in and play as many games, and I didn’t expect him to do as well as he’s done,” Ferdinand said on his FIVE podcast.
“But he hasn’t put a foot wrong, it’s crazy. He’s good with the ball, he’s probably good with the younger players. He’ll probably go into coaching after.
“He wouldn’t have expected to play as many games but listen, the way he’s going it wouldn’t surprise me if he got a new contract, if not there then definitely somewhere else.
“But really, as well as he’s done and as much as I admire him as a professional, he really shouldn’t be at Man United.
“It just shows you where they are. He shouldn’t be being asked to come in and play and chase [Erling] Haaland around. That’s not what the top clubs are doing nowadays.”