'That's everything United have got' – Gulf in class too much for Red Devils against City, says Neville

Gary Neville's reaction to Wednesday night's Manchester derby might come as fearful news for Man Utd fans, with the ex-defender of the opinion that those currently turning out for his former side played to the best of their ability with what they have at their disposal.

There have been cries for an overhaul at Old Trafford for some time now, with new boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer widely expected to get rid of the deadwood in a squad that, after a brief upturn in form, is not living up to the club's lofty standards.

Wednesday's clash between the cross-town rivals showed an abundance of evidence to support those claims, as the home side struggled to match the technical ability of Pep Guardiola's well-drilled visitors in a 2-0 loss.

Indeed, in a historical match-up in which players are expected to pull out all the stops and play for the shirt, Neville's former club registered only one shot on target. Still, the 44-year-old feels they did their best with what's available as City came to life in the second half.

“I thought in the first half an hour that City were as sloppy as I've seen them,” Neville said on Sky Sports . “But to be fair, they set such high standards that you expect precision, the movement, the quality of the passes.

“So I think United played a decent game. What we saw there between Manchester United and Manchester City was the gulf in class between the two teams. I think that's everything United have got.

Fellow former Red Devil Roy Keane weighed in, too, claiming that City will feel surprised at how easy they had it against their derby rivals, and aimed a swipe at midfielder Fred for being at fault for the second goal. Neville, however, remained staunch in his assessment.

“That's what Fred's been like since he's come [to Man Utd],” Neville said. “He isn't a good defender. He'll skip into challenges and he'll get beat, people will go past him, sometimes he'll win it and sometimes he won't.

“And for me, watching Fred all season, he commits himself into challenges, gets skipped past and he can't get back, he can't recover, he doesn't have the legs. I don't think I looked at any player on that pitch and thought they could have given more.

“I mean, De Gea, to be fair, isn't normally like that and they could have not made so many mistakes, but that's what they are. That's the best they've got, I think.”