Alan Shearer has ripped apart Manchester United’s lacklustre performance in the Europa League final, calling it “embarrassing” and “rotten”. The pundit and former England striker issued a brutal assessment of the Red Devils' tactics, which were summed up by putting Harry Maguire up front in a last-ditch effort to score.
Two of the Premier League’s worst clubs this season delivered a Europa League final on Wednesday that lacked quality throughout. Tottenham, plagued by injuries this season, took the lead on the 42-minute mark thanks to Brennan Johnson, after the ball struck Luke Shaw and brushed onto the Tottenham winger to trickle past Andre Onana in goal. The north Londoners sat deep for the rest of the match as Ruben Amorim’s side chased the game and dominated the second-half possession stats.
But United lacked any sort of imagination in their attacking play, eventually resorting to sending long balls into the box. That proved ineffective as Spurs held firm to win 1-0 and claim their first trophy in 17 years.
United used centre-back Maguire as a makeshift forward in the final 10 minutes as one last throw of the dice, which failed to come off. And speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Shearer blasted the Red Devils’ tactics at the end of the game, while calling into question their desire to win on the night.
The Newcastle legend said: “It was just [Spurs] bodies on the line trying to chuck themselves in front of whatever Man United were throwing at them. And they did that. Man United never did enough, they were rotten and they’ve been rotten all season. They’ve been awful, it’s been embarrassing for them.
"Spurs deserved it, I thought. I think they wanted it more and they were up for it more than United, that was apparent to me.” Venting his frustration at their reliance on Maguire to score, he added: "Let me say one thing to you, Man United were an embarrassment tonight. And in the semi-final.
"They chuck a 6ft 4in centre half up to centre forward in desperation in the last ten minutes of the game, lugging huge balls into the box. That's how you're going to get out of trouble? That's how they got to the final, because of Maguire going into that position.
"Man United are not the club that they were 20 years ago, only by name. They're a million miles off it both on and off the pitch. I don't know how they're going to get over this."
United's only big chances came from crosses, with Leny Yoro failing to meet a Bruno Fernandes free-kick while Rasmus Hojlund's header was cleared off the line. Fernandes himself also fizzed a header past the post, while Guglielmo Vicario made a last gasp save to keep out Luke Shaw's header in added time.
As Spurs lifted their first European trophy since 1984 and secured their spot in next season's Champions League, United succumbed to Ange Postecoglou's team for the fourth time this campaign. The result was widely seen as a new low for a club that has lost its identity in the years following Sir Alex Ferguson's exit. For United, there will be no European football next season after their poorest ever Premier League finish to date.