Manchester United Legend Lambasts Kyle Walker for Costly Mistakes

Legendary Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has lambasted Kyle Walker for his frequent mistakes in the defence. The former centre-back who is known for not holding back in his opinions as far as other players are concerned was highly critical of the City defender.

Walker gave away a penalty to hand Liverpool the advantage early on as the Anfield side squared up against City on Sunday. The 30-year-old brought down Sadio Mane to produce the game’s first penalty which was fired home by Mohamed Salah.

Although City fought back to earn a 1-1 draw, giving away another penalty after doing the same against Leicester City in the second game of the season infuriated the former United man.

Keane, who was speaking in his role as a pundit on Sky Sports, tore into Walker while analysing his defending during the half-time break.

“Kyle Walker, people tell me he is playing well but I don’t think so.

“I think this guy is 30 years of age, an international player, he’s a car crash, he keeps making these types of mistakes and rightly punished for it.”

Also working as a pundit alongside Keane was former Manchester City defender Micah Richards, who provided a soft landing for the right-back.

“He’s been in good form,” Richards said. “I think Roy is taking it a little bit overboard there, he’s been one of City’s best players.

“But he gambles there on Mane, he should have just waited. He gambled that he was going on the outside and before you know it, Mane was there and he took him down.”

Manchester City’s form this season has been a mixed bag. Despite having a flawless performance in the Champions League that has seen the team record three comfortable wins, there have been unexpected capitulations in the Premier League.

The 5-2 defeat at the hands of Leicester City took even Pep Guardiola by surprise. But the team has also dropped points against Leeds and West Ham United.

Walker was the hero for City in the penultimate Premier League game as he scored the only goal to give the Blues all three points. But in just seven league games, he has given away two penalties already. That is concerning as the team will need to do better at the back to mount a serious title challenge this term.

Leicester currently sit atop the league standings with 18 points, six ahead of City although having played a game more. Tottenham and Liverpool occupy second and third places respectively with 17 points leaving City down in 10th having collected 12 points.

If the early signs are anything to go by, giving away cheap goals to the opponent could prove costly in the long run. The regular small clubs are having a real go at European places at the moment, if not the title.

And so Man City must shape up, starting from the back.

Walker has been the only steady figure in a defence that has been much maligned over the years. As much as the team is known for scoring a lot of goals, it also ships in many. But the addition of Ruben Dias to the backline is expected to improve the team. As one of the oldest players in the team, Walker must show some leadership and make his experience count.