Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay has denied that his side "gave up" in their 4-1 defeat to rivals Manchester City on Sunday.
United began well at the Etihad Stadium, and despite falling behind to Kevin De Bruyne's goal inside five minutes, they equalised midway through the first half through Jadon Sancho.
Despite being powerless to prevent De Bruyne netting his, and his side's, second just six minutes later, the Red Devils remained well in the contest, but a sluggish second-half display saw Ralf Rangnick's side well beaten.
The poor performance in the second 45 led to suggestions from Gary Neville and Roy Keane on Sky Sports that the United players "gave up" once they had fallen 3-1 behind to Riyad Mahrez's goal.
However, speaking after the game, McTominay defended his teammates: "From my point of view, on the pitch, it's hard to see what's going on around you but if that's what people are saying then so be it.
"They're all entitled to their own opinion but, for myself, it's incredibly disappointing if people think that.
"I'll have to watch it back and see body language and things like that but, for myself, it hurts. If you give a team like that all the time in the world in the second half, you're gonna get punished. It's as simple as that."
United dropped to fifth place following the conclusion of the Premier League action on Sunday, with Arsenal leapfrogging them into fourth spot following their 3-2 win over Watford earlier in the day.
Matthew Tranter
