Despite Man United's FA Cup win over Fulham, Roy Keane unimpressed with Red Devils' 'poor' show

Manchester United legend Roy Keane has slammed the Red Devils following their 3-1 victory in the FA Cup over Fulham at Old Trafford, stating that the Red Devils were "so poor it was unbelievable."

Despite being much superior up until that point, Fulham threw away their lead after a second-half collapse that reduced Marco Silva's team to nine men. Erik ten Hag's team rallied back from falling down a goal to seal their passage into the FA Cup semifinals.

Just after the break, Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Fulham the lead. However, with 15 minutes left, it surprisingly appeared that he had shoved referee Chris Kavanagh. As Willian was also given a red card for handling the ball on the line to obstruct Jadon Sancho from scoring, he and Silva were dismissed for dissent.

Despite the victory, Keane acknowledged after the game that he was not impressed with his former team, implying that Ten Hag would also be "disappointed".

"Obviously, with the FA Cup, the priority is getting into the next round, but with United, I still think their manager will be disappointed with what he saw," the 51-year-old told ITV Sport. "Of course, Fulham self-destructed, but United were so poor it was unbelievable."

The Lilywhites had seemed poised to hold out against United, but the referee's decision to award the Red Devils a penalty for Willian's handball allowed them to reenter the contest. Bruno Fernandes made no errors when he converted the penalty kick to tie the game at one.

Soon after, Marcel Sabitzer gave United a 2-1 lead by capitalising on Fulham's self-destruction, and Fernandes scored his second goal of the game in the 96th minute.

However, United put on a lacklustre performance in the first half, with Fulham outperforming them in terms of possession, goal attempts, and passes.

Keane, who made 473 appearances for the club, said United appeared to have "got into some bad habits" and warned the team that they would lose if they showed up to play Brighton in the FA Cup semifinal with the same mentality.

"I've kind of lost that little bit of confidence watching them now," the United legend stated.

Keane continued, "I think about a month or two ago you're thinking 'yeah, they're up for it', but the last few games I've seen they have a real habit of, I think it's OK to play moments every-now-and-then, but I think that seems to be their DNA at the moment."

"And I think they've got into some real bad habits. It's almost they're turning up today thinking 'we're Man United, we're going to win football matches. But if they turn up with that attitude for the semi-final, Brighton will beat them. Listen - it gives us a kick up the backside," Keane added.

Keane has previously denied allegations that United was exhausted following Thursday night's Europa League victory over Real Betis in Spain earlier in the evening.

With the EFL Cup already won in February, the club is still on track to contend for more silverware this year.

Nonetheless, following the game, Ten Hag advised restraint and cautioned the team not to overachieve in their quest for a domestic double.

"One thing is important, don't think too far ahead, go from game to game,' the Dutchman said. 'I think we had a really massive run. From Christmas up, we had 25 games or so and I think two defeats, the rest draws and especially a lot of wins," the United boss said.

"You see the progress in the team. This team has a strong character, strong belief, a strong determination to win games. Today was an example of it. When you have a difficult period in a game, stay in the game, fight back and turn the game," Ten Hag added.

"We are definitely in the position we want to be. We battle for it, we deserve it, trophies will be won at the end of the season, we are in a position to win trophies," the Dutchman concluded.

Now, United will advance to the FA Cup and Europa League semifinals, where they will play Brighton and Sevilla in April. Nevertheless, after the next week's international break, United will first play in the Premier League against Newcastle.