It’s difficult to argue with Roy Keane’s analysis of Manchester United’s game against Anderlecht.
United laboured to a 2-1 win over the Belgian side in the Europa League quarter-final second leg at Old Trafford, needing extra-time to secure the 3-2 aggregate win.
Henrik Mkhitaryan, and Marcus Rashford scored the goals for Jose Mourinho’s side and secured their place in the semi-finals, but it was a slog as the home side missed a series of chances.
Manchester United fans are all in agreement about Marcus Rashford https://t.co/RiA970nq7V
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) April 21, 2017
Speaking on ITV’s highlights show, Keane was less than impressed with his former team and said that the game summed up United’s season.
“I think we have seen the best and worst from United in this game,” the Republic of Ireland assistant manager said.
“They were quick out of the blocks, as you would expect from United at home and they got their noses in front. But my goodness, the finishing was so poor it was unbelievable.
“It summed up their season. You can see now why they are fifth in the league, why they are 15 points behind Chelsea. (It is) Not good enough in terms of their finishing and being clinical.
“Ultimately, you get punished for that, but they are getting away with it because they are playing lesser opposition in the Europa League.”
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's injury looks very nasty https://t.co/S144owZ8eK
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) April 21, 2017
Keane also offered his thoughts on the performance of Rashford.
The 19-year-old scored the winner on Thursday, but missed his fair share of chances in the game.
“It was just as well that Rashford scored the winner because you would have been waiting for him in the dressing room the chances he missed,” Keane said.
Keane went on to say that Rashford is very talented but “needs to improve his finishing.”
“In his defence, he is still learning,” Keane said.
“Rashford’s pace is outstanding and he is getting into positions because of his pace and getting chances, but he needs to improve his finishing.
“People keep talking about his attitude on and off the pitch and an area of his game he has to improve on is his finishing.
“When a player is that quick, they just depend on their pace all the time, but they have to practice and get used to making the right decisions.
“He has to get more shots on target. The one time he does get it on target, he scores the goal.”
Rashford had six shots on Thursday night, two of which were on target and one resulted in a goal. Judging by those statistics, Keane has a point. But the 19-year-old was the best player on the pitch, and has an abundance of talent and time on his side to become a prolific goalscorer.
But the 19-year-old was the best player on the pitch, and has an abundance of talent and time on his side to become a prolific goalscorer.
Roy Keane was not impressed with @ManUtd's finishing tonight. pic.twitter.com/WIQ8ZeDGZW
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) April 20, 2017
