Roy Keane accused Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca of ‘patronising’ Manchester United on Friday night.
Manchester United fell to a 1-0 defeat against Chelsea as they suffered their 18th defeat in the Premier League this season.
The Red Devils already know they will be finishing in the bottom half of the table, positioned 16th with one league game left to play against Aston Villa at Old Trafford.
Losing to Chelsea means United have gone the entire league campaign without registering back-to-back wins. Ruben Amorim will be looking to address that next season when he takes charge of the team for a full season.
However, Amorim was happy United competed with Chelsea on the night. He was also relieved that all of his players came through the game without any fresh injuries ahead of the Europa League final against Tottenham on Wednesday night.
Chelsea won the game thanks to a header from Marc Cucurella in the final 20 minutes. The Spaniard beat Noussair Mazraoui to the ball before guiding his effort past Andre Onana.
United were unable to respond and Enzo Maresca was accused of ‘patronising’ the visitors on the night.
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Photo by Chelsea Football Club/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Roy Keane irked by Enzo Maresca’s post-match comments
Although Roy Keane never pulls punches when it comes to United, the former Republic of Ireland international turned pundit suggested that Maresca’s comments were aimed as a dig at the Red Devils.
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Maresca was ‘surprised’ by United’s aggression on the night and he was probably taken aback by the fact Amorim named a strong team just days before the Europa League final.
Keane admitted that United aren’t good at anything before suggesting Maresca was ‘patronising’ with his post-match comments about United.
“You sit up and watch certain teams, and you hang your hat on something,” Keane told Sky Sports. “You say they’re really technically very good, they’re fit, they’re brilliant, they’re good at set-pieces. You look at United and go, they’re not really good at anything.
“If they don’t win [the Europa League final] next week, I think the days of everyone wanting to go to Manchester United are gone.
“I don’t think there’ll be players looking to sign for Manchester United. That’s gone, that bit of excitement with the club.
“The fans, even here tonight, I don’t think the United fans are angry anymore. It’s just an acceptance. Even the manager’s interview there, he’s accepting where they are.
“Now, obviously, you have to be realistic, but you still want to show emotion and a bit of anger. I think United fans will be going back up the motorway to Manchester tonight going: ‘Oh, that’s what we thought would probably happen.’ And that’s a sad thing to do.
“I certainly didn’t, and I don’t think the manager [Amorim] did, and more importantly, I don’t think the players believed they could come and win tonight.
“And even the Chelsea manager, he’s patronising them by saying: ‘Oh, they played well, they pressed us, they were one on one. They’re dangerous. We watched them a few times’.
‘They beat them 1-0. And United had one shot on target. One shot on target. He’s just like, what they’re doing to United, they’re patting them on the head going saying, ‘off you go, back up to Manchester’.
“That’s what United used to do to teams years ago. Now they’re getting it. And they’ve got to respond to that. Don’t accept that nonsense.”
What did Enzo Maresca say about Manchester United?
It was an embarrassing night for United after losing their 18th league game this season.
That didn’t change the fact Maresca claimed United had played well when assessing his own side’s performance.
“I know how difficult it is to play against Man United,” Maresca told reporters in his post-match interview.
“We expected a tough game, congratulations to them because they played very well.”
"Very important, they surprised us with how aggressive they were off the ball"
Enzo Maresca reacts to Chelsea's 1-0 win over Manchester United, which lifted them into fourth place 🔵 pic.twitter.com/P7iaspdPvg
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) May 17, 2025
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Maresca could be suggesting that United performed a lot better against Chelsea than they did in recent weeks against lesser opposition.
The United first-team squad must be growing in appetite ahead of the Europa League.