Roy Keane could not hide his amusement at Manchester United's derby warm-up before Manchester United vs Manchester City. United's back four were defending uncontested long balls, and the former captain made clear he thought the drill was far too neat for a game of that size.

The warm-up featured Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Patrick Dorgu. Keane said, "I love these drills here, honestly it tickles me this. I'd like to think at his level they know where they are going to be moving. There's nobody challenging them, Haaland's not running off the back of them."

The drill Keane laughed at

He was not finished there. Speaking on the broadcast, Keane added, "I love these drills here. It tickles me this." The point was not subtle: for him, a derby warm-up should look a lot less controlled and a lot more like the pressure United were about to face.

United arrived on a five-match league run of WWDWW, while Manchester City came in on LDWWD. City also finished 2nd in the 2025 Premier League with 78 points, ahead of United's 3rd-place finish on 71.

Keane's broader warning was that United needed to close the gap to City, and he said, "United should be encouraged a little bit if they are going to get a bit closer to City. Hopefully they can do that starting today."

Carrick's team news before the derby

The warm-up story sat alongside a straightforward team issue for Michael Carrick's first Manchester derby since taking permanent charge. Luke Shaw did not recover from his knock in time to face City, and Carrick said, "Close, very close, just not quite there. It's very small but unfortunately not for today."

Carrick backed Patrick Dorgu to step in. "Pat's (Dorgu) a good player, he's played there before. Fully trust in Pat, he played very well in midweek. Slightly different game today but we fully trust him," he said.

United's front four included Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo. The derby itself had not been played, and the pre-match mood was already set by Keane's verdict on a warm-up he clearly thought looked too comfortable for the occasion.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →