Manchester United legend Roy Keane has delivered a scathing assessment of Dean Henderson’s goalkeeping against Liverpool, insisting he lacks ‘presence’ and ‘looks so small’ between the posts.
Henderson was beaten four times on Thursday night as Liverpool picked up a massive three points at Old Trafford with a 4-2 win that has reignited their Champions League hopes.
The 24-year-old stopper has been United’s No 1 in the Premier League ever since David de Gea took personal leave to be with his pop star partner Edurne Garcia as she prepared to give birth to their daughter back in March.
But Henderson attracted criticism for his performance against United’s bitter rivals, particularly for his positioning as Mohamed Salah raced away to score the fourth and final goal late on.
The Egyptian ran from inside his own half as United pushed for an equaliser but Henderson failed to rush out to meet him and then offered up the far corner for Salah to slot home with a customary left-footed finish.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Keane was less than impressed with Henderson’s performance.
The former United captain said: ‘He looks so small in the goals, that’s my worry [over] Henderson.
‘He has a good mentality, good temperament and is good with his feet, but I’ve seen a few goals go in recently where he looks so small in the goals.
‘Tonight he may look at it and go “it’s not my best night”, but he needs a run of games.
‘They can’t go back to De Gea, I don’t think that’s the final answer either.
‘He [Henderson] is going to make mistakes of course, but my worry is his presence. He looks so small, which is a big concern going forward.’
United fans were also critical on social media, with one insisting Henderson ‘shouldn’t be anywhere near the line up for the Europa League final’.
@BenTheMan tweeted: ‘And people really think Dean Henderson should start ahead of Pope in the Euros for England? Give your head a wobble’.
@The_Giant wrote: ‘I know there are a lot of people who love Dean Henderson, but David de Gea saves at least two of those goals, maybe even the first one too. He just has something extra that Henderson doesn’t’.
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