Roy Keane dismisses suggestions Man United may be fatigued amid busy fixture schedule

Roy Keane dismissed claims that Manchester United’s lacklustre first half against Fulham was due to fatigue after their Europa League trip to Real Betis on Thursday night.  

Erik ten Hag’s side defeated Fulham 3-1 in their FA Cup quarter-final tie at Old Trafford, after the Red Devils had got off to a slow start against the London side. 

They went a goal down just after half-time with Aleksandar Mitrovic putting the away team a goal up before receiving a red card later on in the match alongside his teammate Willian and manager Marco Silva. 

United would bounce back with Bruno Fernandes bagging a double, while Marcel Sabitzer netted his first goal for the club, sending United through to the semi-finals at Wembley. 

But it’s been a busy few months for United, who mathematically can still win multiple trophies this season, with the club now holding a quarter-final berth in the Europa League and a semi-final slot in the FA Cup.

Roy Keane has shot down claims that Manchester United could be struggling with fatigue

Bruno Fernandes (left) equalised for Man United from the spot before grabbing a second

Marcel Sabitzer (middle) poked home to give the hosts a 2-1 scoring his first goal for the club

While it’s unlikely they’ll be able to overtake Arsenal and Manchester City in the Premier League, the former Red Devils captain was on hand at half-time to give his verdict on suggestions that United could be struggling with fatigue after their European trip to Spain on Thursday. 

Ten Hag’s side claimed a 1-0 win in that game following their 4-1 triumph the week prior, sending them through to the next round of the tournament and Keane claimed that United’s poor first-half showing against Fulham should not be attributed to tiredness.

‘I wouldn’t want to hear that type of talk even from the game the other night,’ Keane said when asked if he thought the side were tired from that match. 

‘I think it’s difficult if you have an away game in Europe and you travel again when you come back from an away game. 

Willian (right) was sent off deflecting a shot from Jadon Sancho away from goal with his hand

Aleksandar Mitrovic (right) was also sent off for dissent after touched the referee in frustration

Fulham’s manager Marco Silva was also shown a red card too after conflicting with the referee

It was a slow first-half for Erik ten Hag’s side who were in action against Real Betis on Thursday

‘But I think then when you’re at home, he’s made one or two changes and that can not be any sort of excuse for a bad performance, I’m not having that.’

Keane also noted that most of United’s FA Cup draws had also been played at home this season. 

‘I think a lot of the games, certainly the cup games we were on about were home draws,’ he added. 

‘I don’t think it’s been a draining season yet, that’s all to come with the intensity of the games and obviously there will be a lot more at stake. That cannot come into play today for United if they don’t get over the line.’