Manchester United's problems summed up perfectly by Michael Owen using Liverpool analogy

Premier League legend Michael Owen has slammed Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for his tactics and has cited Liverpool as an example to explain how they can improve. The Red Devils suffered a humiliating 2-0 derby defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday.

An own goal from Eric Bailly and a goal from Bernardo Silva was sufficient to help Manchester City claim all three points against their fiercest rivals. As a result of the loss, Ole's side has just won one game in their last six Premier League matches.

Michael Owen opines on how Manchester United should play

While speaking to Premier League productions after the Man Utd vs Man City game, Michael Owen said, "Manchester United have collected a fantastic array of players, but they don’t look like a team whereas Pep Guardiola, whatever team he manages, they've got a distinct style of play." The Liverpool legend went on to explain why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side must adopt a formation that suits all their players.

"They are collecting a load of players. All these great players from around the world and they are chopping and changing all the time. You’ve got to be able to see further than the end of your nose and think this is the way we’re going to play no matter what. We are going to buy players for these positions and now let’s play this way." The Red Devils' performance against their arch-rivals was a sheer disappointment as they just registered four touches in Manchester City's box despite playing at home, a sort of performance that fans would have never associated with Manchester United under legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Michael Owen explains why Liverpool are a good example to learn from

Michael Owen, who won the Ballon d'Or with Liverpool in 2001, explained how coach Jurgen Klopp transformed his side to one of the strongest teams in the Premier League. While explaining how Manchester United can change under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Owen said,

"If things go wrong and you concede five against Liverpool you don’t think the defence is rubbish. Let’s go and put one more player in there. It’s ridiculous. I go back to what Jurgen Klopp did at Liverpool and he's the best exponent at it. He came in and said this is how we’ll play. Our full-backs will bomb forward. We are going to have a sitting midfield and play three up front. It weeds out the weak. The poor players get weeded out because they get exposed in a formation."

The 41-year old pundit then explained the problem with Ole. Owen said that if the Manchester United manager were to see a 'weak player' in his line-up, he would 'cover for him' by putting even more defenders in rather than weeding out the weak if they are 'not good enough.' The former Liverpool player added that all the Red Devils are currently doing 'is covering for weaknesses and looking at the next week,' thinking that if the match is against a good team, then they will play 'loads of defenders.'

The Premier League legend called the mentality 'rubbish,' stating that the Old Trafford outfit desperately requires a 'long-term plan.' He ended the point by stating that weeding 'out the rubbish' is the only way to get to the top once again even if that means they will 'have to go through a bit of pain on the way.'