Phil Neville picks four Man Utd players he thinks could cause relegation after the draw with Aston Villa
Phil Neville pointed out four Manchester United players, including Noussair Mazraoui and Leny Yoro, after their 4-4 draw with Aston Villa, warning that they could “get you relegated.” No team in Europe’s top five leagues has let in more goals than Manchester United this season.
So far, Michael Carrick’s team has conceded 30 goals in the 2026-27 season, showing their recent struggles in defense. Players like Diogo Dalot have faced a lot of criticism. In fact, Phil Neville named Dalot, along with Leny Yoro, Noussair Mazraoui, and Ayden Heaven, as weak spots in the defense.
After the game, Neville was clear on NBC Sports: “Mazraoui, Yoro, Heaven, and Dorgu finished the game as a back four. That back four gets you relegated. That back four gets a manager sacked. I don’t think that back four can keep United in the Premier League.”
Many believe United’s poor start is because they didn’t strengthen key positions in the summer. They signed three central midfielders — Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba, and Andrey Santos — but didn’t bring in a left-back or striker, leaving them short on options.
On Sunday, Gary Neville also criticized United’s recruitment while talking with his brother Phil on NBC. He said, “It’s rinse and repeat, isn’t it? We’ve seen many managers come and go — like Amorim, Ten Hag, Solskjaer, Mourinho, Van Gaal, and others. Some are world-class, some are promising, many know the club well, but none of it has worked.”
Gary added, “If you recruit badly, have a weak performance and recruitment team, and don’t have strong leadership from top to bottom, you will fail. Every organization fails without aligned leadership — from the board and owners right down to the players on the pitch. There are big problems at the club, with people in senior roles who haven’t done the jobs before.”
He went on, “I thought there was some good football today — some nice combinations and strong attacking play. But the defensive mistakes were costly. We kept saying in the transfer window that they must bring in defenders and find the budget somehow — even borrow money if needed. But right now, they don’t have the funds to do that.”