Fans on social media have hit out at Thierry Henry’s ‘uncomfortable and borderline embarrassing’ criticism of Leny Yoro in the wake of Manchester United’s 4-1 thrashing by Premier League rivals Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
The summer signing found himself in the firing amid a stuttering team performance during Henry’s analysis of the match on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football.
Alongside co-pundit Jamie Carragher, Henry claimed that 19-year-old had done something he had ‘never seen before’ during the defeat.
Analysis showed Yoro looking to the linesman in the immediate aftermath of Harvey Barnes’ goal, which Henry believed was in part evidence that Man United were lacking their opposition’s ‘desire’.
Carragher also weighed in on Man United’s difficult afternoon, comparing Ruben Amorim’s side to ‘under-five young kids’ rather than top-flight footballers.
But viewers of the discourse on social media insisted that the pundits had gone too far in their judgement of the teenager, with Carragher also appearing to take his thoughts to social media.
Leny Yoro was among the Manchester United players who came in for criticism after defeat to Newcastle on Sunday
Thierry Henry was particularly critical of his teenage compatriot on Monday Night Football
Henry had questioned Yoro’s immediate reaction after the team conceded Harvey Barnes’ goal
‘Slightly uncomfortable and borderline embarrassing analysis from Thierry Henry on Leny Yoro’s role in Harvey Barnes third goal, 19-year-old defender by the way,’ one user posted.
‘I like Henry but this is nonsense,’ another added. ‘Frozen a clip just to make a cheap joke on a young centre half.
‘If Yoro plays for Fulham or Palace they wouldn’t dream of using this ‘analysis’.’
A third claimed: ‘This is proper pathetic from all involved. A year ago, Henry said “what he is doing is extraordinary” about Yoro, and now he’s bashing him for nothing. Punditry in the toilet these days.’
Sky Sports’ Premier League account on X (formerly Twitter) had posted a clip of Henry’s analysis on Yoro, which Carragher is believed to have responded to with four weeping emojis – but both original posts were later deleted from social media.
Sky Sports later re-shared the video of Henry’s analysis.
‘Sky Sports have now deleted this Thierry Henry clip,’ Another social media account claimed. ‘This sensationalism is cheap low hanging fruit & fans saw straight through it.
‘Punditry on Sky has never been poorer than it is right now. Embarrassing to try to bully & attack a 19 year old player.’
During the analysis, Henry also lambasted Yoro’s team-mates, claiming that the entirety of the XI were ‘just not good enough’.
‘Leny Yoro doesn’t go back to try and defend. The desire was on Newcastle’s side. They’re just not good enough,’ Henry said.
Fans online dubbed Henry’s comments ‘sensationalist’ and ‘borderline embarrassing’
Jamie Carragher is also believed to have posted a now-deleted response to a deleted clip of the punditry posted by Sky Sports
‘That (Barnes goal) should never happen. Pause on Yoro. I don’t know why… I don’t know what he is looking at? Are you looking at the linesman, trying to see if he is going to bail you out, I don’t know?
‘I don’t know if he thought there was an offside. We all know it’s a goal. What are you looking at? I actually don’t know. I’ve never seen that before.’
Former Man United midfielder Roy Keane was similarly sanguine on Sunday afternoon shortly after the final whistle, dubbing his former club’s current side as ‘weak’.
‘Not good enough, the second half,’ he told Sky Sports. ‘That’s 14 league games they’ve lost. There’s not enough players who run in the team. You’ve got to dig deep even when you’re up against it.
‘United now are physically and mentally a weak team. Newcastle were too fast, they were too powerful, they were more determined.
‘I can’t see it (signs Man United are getting better). I worry for this group of players. To me they don’t look like a strong group mentally.’
With the club’s worst-ever Premier League season now confirmed, Amorim’s men will hope to end their campaign on a high note with a triumph in the Europa League, their last bid for silverware.
The hosts will look to get back to winning ways against Lyon at Old Trafford on Thursday evening in the second-leg of their quarter-final tie, with last week’s clash ending 2-2 in France.
