Gary Neville has broken down the major problem that Michael Carrick’s Manchester United side faced against Leeds United without Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire.
Michael Carrick was forced to shake up his Manchester United starting XI on Monday evening for the Premier League clash against Leeds United at Old Trafford.
The 44-year-old United legend revealed ahead of the Leeds match that Kobbie Mainoo would be absent from the midfield due to a minor injury he suffered in training.
Harry Maguire, on the other hand, was unable to feature in Man Utd’s 2-1 defeat to Leeds due to the England star serving a one-match Premier League suspension.
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Michael Carrick shakes hands with Kobbie Mainoo after the Premier League match between Bournemouth and Manchester United at the Vitality Stadium in 2026 in Bournemouth, England.
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Gary Neville says Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire are a key part of Man Utd’s ‘spine’ under Michael Carrick
Harry Maguire had picked up a red card ahead of the March international break in Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
Kobbie Mainoo’s inability to play on Monday evening also saw Red Devils interim boss Michael Carrick hand Manuel Ugarte a rare start in the Premier League.
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Another major change from Carrick included dropping Bryan Mbeumo to the bench and deploying Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko as the lone forward in his set-up.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Gary Neville insisted that Mainoo, Maguire, Bryan Mbeumo and Casemiro are a core part of the Man Utd spine for Carrick’s starting XI.
“Just the fact they didn’t have that ordinary spine of Mbeumo, Kobbie Mainoo with Casemiro and with Harry Maguire there, it just felt before the game that they weren’t quite right,” he said on The Gary Neville Podcast.
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Gary Neville analyses the significance of losing key players from Man Utd’s set-up against Leeds United
Casemiro played alongside Manuel Ugarte in the Man Utd midfield pivot and the pair struggled to cause problems for Leeds in the first half at Old Trafford.
However, the 34-year-old Brazilian midfielder did make an impact in the second half after Casemiro netted from a header for Man Utd against Leeds on Monday evening.
When discussing Man Utd missing key players, United legend Neville said: “You lose two, three or four players out of the team and all of a sudden it looks a bit awkward, a little bit clumsy and not connected and no combinations.
“I have liked a lot of what I have seen under Michael Carrick when they have had the likes of Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo, Amad [Diallo] and Matheus Cunha and then Benjamin Sesko coming off the bench and being a bit of a battering ram brings something as well.”
United were reduced to 10 men against Leeds in their 2-1 defeat after Lisandro Martinez was controversially sent off in the second half of their Premier League tie.
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