Neville slams Man Utd players' actions after Aston Villa draw - 'Painful to watch'

Gary Neville claimed Manchester United players are in danger of "causing themselves emotional damage" by doing laps of appreciation at Old Trafford after failing to win.

United drew 4-4 with Aston Villa in a drama-filled Premier League game on Sunday afternoon. Michael Carrick's side came from two goals down twice, with their attack showing fight to cancel out their shambolic defence.

The home side were 2-0 down after four minutes after mistakes by Senne Lammens allowed Alysson and Nicolas Jackson to score. They fought back through Bruno Fernandes' penalty and Youri Tielemans' goal, but their good work was undermined early in the second half.

Diogo Dalot's foul on Alysson saw John McGinn score from the spot before Leon Goretzka netted from close range after a mistake by Leny Yoro. Substitutes Joshua Zirzkee and Patrick Dorgu then both scored in injury time to claim a point in a chaotic finish.

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After the full-time whistle, United's players wandered around the pitch to applaud the fans, who chanted Carrick's name in support of their under-fire boss, whose side sit 18th in the Premier League after an eighth match without a win. That infuriated Neville, who made his feelings clear on NBC Sports.

"You got to admire their persistence, they kept going," Neville said. "The defensive errors were shocking and we'll discuss that shortly. But this lap around the pitch...

"I played for Manchester United 602 times and I always appreciated the fans at the end of the game, but this pattern of them walking around the pitch after defeats by Bournemouth and a 4-4 at home against Aston Villa, it's almost painful to watch. They're almost causing themselves emotional damage.

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"This just can't go on, can it? It's absolutely desperate. Michael will be proud of them and the fans are singing his name because they love him but this is a really sorry situation."

Carrick praised the United fans for sticking by his side. "The fans are right behind the players," he told Sky Sports. "You’ve seen that, it’s pretty obvious, they’re right behind the players.

"They are desperate to get behind us and for us to give them something to go on and shout about. There’s frustration and disappointment at times, we all feel that. But they are right behind the boys and were at the final whistle as well."

United striker Matheus Cunha also thanked the supporters in his interview. "I feel like we need to learn from the last seasons. I don't understand why we put ourselves in this situation," he said.

"I feel like we're good enough to go and change our situation for everyone, for us, for the staff, for the team. We only ask the fans to do what they did. It's amazing because it gives us more energy in these kind of situations."