"If that goes in there's serious words being after"-Michael Owen slams Man United duo over 'criminal' defending

Former Manchester United and Liverpool striker Michael Owen has criticized Manchester United's duo, Marcus Rashford and Raphael Varane over their defensive ethics during Manchester United's draw with Leeds United.

Marcus Rashford and Raphael Varane came under fire from the fromer England international for their "criminal" defending of a free kick during Manchester United's 2-2 draw with Leeds United on Wednesday.

Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho scored goals in the second half to help Erik ten Hag's team rally from a two-goal deficit and earn a point at Old Trafford.

After the break, though, Leeds came close to adding a third goal when Brenden Aaronson's free kick off the post. Replays afterwards revealed that Rashford and Varane had drifted apart as the ball passed through United's defense, infuriating David De Gea.

"I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe this wall," Owen told Premier League Productions.

"Look at the way they split – Varane and Rashford they just split – the ball goes low, right through the middle, it didn’t go over the wall at all."

"If that goes in, and they both turn away, that’s criminal, that’s criminal. I mean, if that goes in there’s serious, serious words being had after," he added.

"You simply cannot do that. You need to be big, brave and bold in a wall and to turn your back and split – everything you cannot do they did there."

"They’ve got away with it. They better look at that and think, ‘wow, that’s pretty embarrassing, we can’t do that again’," he stated.

After Jadon Sancho scored his first goal during his three-month hiatus, Owen has encouraged him to continue.

"This will do him so much confidence, beating players, scoring a goal, having a big influence on getting back into the game," Owen stated.

"We’ve seen it before, mostly in Germany, but in the Premier League that’s the acid test. I think he’s good enough, I think he can make a big impression, I think he can have a great career, it’s been a stuttering start."

"I think the difference between these confidence players, these wide, attacking players, that need to feel loved, that need to feel confident, when you come into a team that’s really struggling, I don’t care if you’re on a high, if the other 10 players are struggling at the time, it’s so hard to make an impression."

"Now he comes back into a Manchester United team that are confident, playing well, and I think that could be the making of him," Owen explained.