Man Utd stars should be ‘ashamed’ as Dimitar Berbatov launches furious live TV rant

Manchester United struggled once again as they travelled to Aston Villa, with a goalless draw in the Midlands leaving Erik ten Hag’s side sitting a lowly 14th in the Premier League

Manchester United icon Dimitar Berbatov has insisted the current crop of Red Devils players should feel ‘ashamed’ after they were outshone by 36-year-old Jonny Evans.

Evans started the trip to Aston Villa alongside Harry Maguire at centre-back and put in an assured performance. The Northern Irishman returned to Old Trafford last summer in the expectation he would be able to gain coaching experience.

But he has been called upon more often than expected as boss Erik ten Hag battles to save his job. With first choice pairing Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez both struggling to perform, Evans was elevated to the starting line-up at Villa Park.

The veteran impressed, even as his team-mates again failed to live up to their potential. And Berbatov has made it clear that much more is expected of United players, with Evans the one Red Devils star who can hold their head high after Sunday’s draw.

“I am trying to find the right words here. Everybody on the pitch today should be ashamed because Jonny Evans is man of the match. Credit to him, he is 36. But everybody younger than him, next time, be better,” Berbatov told Sky Sports.

“I think the criticism will continue to grow because United need to win to get the points. They are 14th in the table, which is unbelievable. The only thing to correct is getting the points but with the way they are playing at the moment that will be hard.”

United now sit 14th in the Premier League table, heading into the second international break of the season. Their awful form has left beleagured boss Ten Hag fighting to save his job at Old Trafford.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Who was man of the match as Manchester Unitted drew with Aston Villa? Comment below.

United’s controlling co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was in attendance at Villa Park on Sunday. But Ten Hag has insisted he is not worried about his future and is instead confident Ratcliffe will keep him in charge.

“We always speak, every week we speak. We are all on board together, on one page, we know what we are working through it’s a long-term process. We have come through two very tough away games,” he told Sky Sports.

“This is a team, we showed the belief and faith we have. I think it’s the fourth clean sheet this season. You see we had a very good organisation and togetherness. There was good character and good spirit as a team. Determined, resilient.

“We almost didn’t concede a chance, when you defend like this and get some luck, in the end they had a big chance but it was almost the only chance I think. We created some chances, also not so many chances.

“But the two teams were really balanced. We know in this moment we have a lack of goals, in that perspective it’s not a good start, we have to step up. That’s an area we have to improve. But we have four clean sheets. That’s good because we have to defend proper.”

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