Roy Keane's 'embarrassing' Manchester United vs Man City verdict can be put right on derby day

Manchester United's recent derby day history hasn't contained too many positives.

The Reds have been battered 6-3 and 4-1 and won just two of their last eight meetings with Manchester City. One of those came last season at Old Trafford in a 2-1 success but the league double in 2019-20 and coming from two down to win at the Etihad in 2018 have been rare bright spots over the past decade.

And all too often United have performed poorly in those fixtures, struggling to impose themselves on their neighbours and making little impact in several listless defeats. Unsurprisingly that has irked former Reds skipper Roy Keane who has watched many of the recent contests while working as a pundit for Sky Sports.

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The ex-midfielder will be hoping for an improvement on the past few years, where he has regularly and heavily criticised United for sub-par performances. He's labelled United embarrassing, unacceptable and accused them of throwing in the towel and slacking off.

Speaking in October 2022, after the 6-3 reverse, Keane said: "Nothing for United to take out of this game. From the players' point of view, they should be embarrassed. You can’t go in at half-time 4-0 down, it’s hugely embarrassing, as brilliant as Man City were.

"They got overran in midfield, defensively all over the shop. No leadership, there was nothing there from Man United. It’s brutal for Man United, when you’re not quite at it you get hammered by your rivals. Brilliant for Man City but for Man United, again, they should be embarrassed."

That scathing assessment was similar to one offered in November