Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes criticised a lack of leadership and planning at Manchester United following their Champions League exit at home to Atletico Madrid.
With Renan Lodi's first-half goal putting Atleti up 2-1 on aggregate, United eventually went out tamely as they struggled to create much of substance while chasing the result.
According to former United centre-back Ferdinand, the biggest difference between the two teams was not on the pitch but rather with Ralf Rangnick and Diego Simeone in the respective dugouts.
"The difference between the two teams, the Atletico team, they had a group of reliable men, reliable men who would go out there and do anything the manager asked of them," Ferdinand told BT Sport.
"They understand the job at hand and they work together as a team. Whereas the other team, Man Utd, they’re looking at each other like, 'Who's going to pull us out of this? Who's going to pull the magic trick out of the hat?'
"It's not about the team getting through this. It's a moment of brilliance from an individual and it's a very different way of working."
Ferdinand hedged his comments, though, saying the club needs to patiently progress when they bring in a manager, a process which has reportedly already begun behind the scenes.
"Once you get the manager, getting the right person, you're talking minimum of two, three years before you can think about challenging, and with Manchester City and Liverpool it's a high bar," Ferdinand continued.
Scholes delivered a particularly blunt assessment, asserting interim manager Rangnick is not meeting expectations with the squad he has at his disposal.
"The coach is a massive part of it, getting a proper coach. This isn't a terrible group of players, if you give them structure and a way of playing, there's some real talent in this squad. It's not as talented as the teams above them, we know that," he said.
"The very first thing this club needs to do, to get anywhere near winning anything, is get a proper coach. Get a coach that suits them and give them a couple of years to build a squad that will challenge.
"Atletico are not a better team than Man United, but they've got a better coach. If he [Simeone] was coaching Man United, they go through that game.
"What it comes from is leadership. It comes from a coach who demands that and will get that out of his players. I don't want to keep having a go at this manager. He seems real nice, I love his interviews, he's very honest, but how he was chosen to be manager of this club – whether it's for six months, six weeks, six games – I don't know."
Luis Enrique in awe of Simeone energy ahead of reunion
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique was full of praise for his former rival Diego Simeone as he prepares to go head-to-head with the Atletico Madrid boss in the Champions League.
PSG and Atletico, who reached the semi-finals and the quarter-finals respectively last season, will face off on Wednesday having both won just one of their three league-phase games.
A home victory would boost PSG, currently 19th with four points, while Atletico, languishing in 27th on three, are aiming to recover from back-to-back losses.
PSG have never faced Atletico in the Champions League before but Luis Enrique's Barcelona defeated Simeone's Atletico side nine times in their 14 meetings between 2014 and 2017, drawing twice and losing three times.
Luis Enrique led Barca to a Champions League and LaLiga double in 2014-15 followed by another league title the following year.
"We've played against each other as players and then as managers. I admire Simeone, when a coach can stay for so many years at a top club it means he is great because that is such a difficult thing to do," Luis Enrique told reporters on Tuesday.
Simeone has managed Atletico for 13 years, guiding them to two LaLiga titles and two Europa League crowns, though the Madrid side had considered hiring Luis Enrique prior to Simeone's arrival.
"I had given my word to another club. If I had gone to Atleti, I would not have stayed half as long as Simeone because I don't have the energy as him," added Luis Enrique.
"They are lucky to have found Simeone as a coach. You need a lot of energy, to be able to convince all your players over the long-term."
PSG, having lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid in the close season, have just two goals in their three Champions League games, beating Girona 1-0 but drawing 1-1 with PSV and losing 2-0 at Arsenal.
"I have no doubt we can improve in defence and attack, whether it is with the defender duos of Marquinhos and Willian Pacho, or Milan Skriniar and Lucas Beraldo, or in the midfield," Luis Enrique said.
"I understand you want to discuss individual players, but we analyse things from a broader perspective.
"What interests me is to always generate goalscoring opportunities and to arrive in the penalty area because you have managed to be stronger than your opponent.
"That is my objective as a coach: to always generate opportunities."
Close-season signing Matvey Safonov, who kept a clean sheet in their opening win against Girona, might replace number one goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, whose mistakes proved costly at Arsenal and against PSV.
"You will find out tomorrow. After a good cup of cappuccino, I will decide who the goalkeeper is," Luis Enrique said.
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Amorim: Man Utd will think 'new Alex Ferguson has arrived' if Sporting beat Man City
Ruben Amorim joked Manchester United fans will think he is the next Alex Ferguson if Sporting CP manage to beat Manchester City in the Champions League.
The head coach has agreed to join the Red Devils and will take charge from November 11 after signing a contract with the club until the end of the 2026-27 season.
Before then, he has two games left in charge of Sporting, starting with their Champions League match against Pep Guardiola's men on Tuesday.
Sporting have made a perfect start to the Primeira Liga, winning all 10 of their games, and have made an unbeaten start in Europe, but Amorim is prepared to come under more scrutiny while on the touchline against City.
"Winning tomorrow would be brilliant. Would I be a hero at Manchester United before I land? I don't think about that, my focus is on winning the game for Sporting," Amorim told a press conference.
"The inferences that people will draw from this game are not important to me because they can be misleading. If the result was very negative, expectations will be lowered, and I don't think that is a bad starting point when I start at United.
"If we win tomorrow, they will think that the new Alex Ferguson has arrived and that will be very difficult to maintain. What interests me is to win tomorrow, to have a farewell at Alvalade, then win in Braga and then start in Manchester.
"It can increase or decrease expectations. I don't know what is better. I want to leave the fans and the players happy and confident and qualify the team for the play-offs."
Sporting won their first European meeting with City in March 2012 in the Europa League, but are winless in their last three against them (D1 L2).
However, they are unbeaten in their first three Champions League games so far this season, and if they avoid defeat on Tuesday, they will equal their longest-ever unbeaten run in the competition (four between September 1982 and March 1983).
The 39-year-old boasts the best win ratio of any Sporting coach on record in the Primeira Liga, winning 120 of his 156 such games in charge (76.92%), but captain Morten Hjulmand said the team are ready to prove they do not need Amorim, who agreed with the sentiment.
"Yes, [Sporting is prepared for his departure]. You heard Hjulmand say that they no longer need the coach," he added.
"They are very mature; they understand the game very well. They are prepared, it won't make any difference in the end.
"There is a change, of course, but the team is prepared and has enough maturity to move forward."
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