Gary Neville sums up 'absolutely pathetic' part of football as he tears into Man Utd in brutal rant

Gary Neville brandished Manchester United as 'absolutely pathetic' after they went 1-0 down against Fulham in one of his all-time most scathing rants.

The first half at Craven Cottage was a very watchable contest, with the two sides sharing 26 shots at goal between them. But the beginning of the second half was the polar opposite, with neither side having a shot in the opening 15 minutes.

Neville became exasperated at what he described as 'walking' off the ball by both teams - and a horror own goal conceded by Lisandro Martinez very much tipped him over the edge.

'The worst 15 minutes I've ever seen them play...' - Gary Neville slams Manchester United

"I've watched Manchester United since the age of five and that's the worst 15 minutes I've ever seen them play," Neville fumed. "Absolutely pathetic. They've walked for 15 minutes.

"You get what you deserve in a football match. Maybe that will wake them up, maybe that will wake Fulham up as well. Maybe there will be a reaction, but I've never seen a lack of effort for 15, 20 minutes like I've just seen then."

Before the goal, he had stated: "I'm finding it really hard, the walking about. You should never walk around on a football pitch. It's bizarre. I am finding this really difficult. And both teams are exactly the same."

Fans on social media noted how they'd seen several top-flight matches where similar approaches were taken in terms of off-the-ball movement and defensive positioning, and even in terms of urgency in possession.

Premier League sides - and how much distance they cover

As per Fotmob, United sit bottom of all 20 Premier League clubs for distance covered this season, at 105.4 kilometres - albeit while the game at Craven Cottage is ongoing.

But there is a pattern among some of the top clubs in the league. Manchester City are in 17th, at 111.2 kilometres covered; Liverpool are 19th, on 110.3 kilometres covered.

Many Reds fans criticised their side's lack of urgency and intensity despite their 1-0 win over Bournemouth at Dean Court on Sunday afternoon.

Of course, part of the reason behind those numbers, particularly in City's case, is that many teams tend to prefer keeping position. But Arsenal lead the way for distance covered this season and sit fifth in the possession charts, with 59.3 per cent average possession per game. United, in contrast, sit ahead of them in fourth.