Roy Keane criticised Alphonse Areola and his defenders for their part in the equaliser as Manchester United came from behind to defeat West Ham 3-1 in the FA Cup on Wednesday night.
Said Benrahma gave the Hammers the lead with a fantastic long-range shot. Nayef Aguerd’s own goal for United in the 77th minute restored the scoreline.
However, David Moyes will be incredibly unhappy that neither Alphonse Areola nor the Moroccan international dealt with a basic corner before the ball ended up in the corner.
Even worse, Erik ten Hag’s team scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time thanks to Alejandro Garnacho’s outstanding finish, and the goal inspired the home team to steal it away from the visitors. Fred added a third to guarantee the Red Devils’ place against Fulham in the quarterfinals.
Nonetheless, Keane chose to draw attention to Areola’s contribution to United’s equaliser and acknowledged that the West Ham players were discussing what to do “like they were in Starbucks.” Keane believes that the French goalkeeper should have shown more authority in his own box.
As reported by the Mirror, the former United captain said:
“The keeper has got to come out there – a goalkeeper coach I used to work with used to say, come out with violence. Then they have a little discussion afterwards like they are in Starbucks. Come and take people out – come with violence. That’s your job!”
“United have got lucky tonight. We said before tonight that he made a huge gamble with all the changes and it looked like it was going to backfire, but they started to do what they were good at, contributions from players off the bench. 3-1, comfortable in the end.”
United did not put up their best performance, and they had to work hard to go to the next round in the closing minutes. But they were able to complete the task, and Keane praised Ten Hag for once again being successful with his substitutions and decision-making throughout the game.
On Sunday, Ten Hag’s team will play again when they take on Liverpool in the Premier League, hoping to maintain their lead over Manchester City and Arsenal at the top of the standings.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils will face Fulham in the next round of the FA Cup.
