"Greenwood deserves to play in front of him" - Gary Neville makes interesting Manchester United claim after 2-0 City defeat

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has revealed that Mason Greenwood should start ahead of Marcus Rashford.

The retired England international made the claim on his official Twitter page when he responded to a tweet by The Telegraph journalist James Ducker.

Ducker had tweeted that Rashford's recent fitness issues meant it was not a surprise to see him on the bench for Manchester United. Neville quoted the tweet and responded:

''Greenwood deserves to play in front of him! That should be noted."

This came in the aftermath of Manchester United's harrowing 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on home turf in Saturday's lunchtime kickoff.

Eric Bailly's early own goal and Bernardo Silva's strike on the stroke of half-time helped Pep Guardiola's side leave Old Trafford with all three points.

In many ways, a 2-0 defeat flattered the Red Devils, as they were totally outclassed by their city rivals. It marked the second time in as many weeks that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were beaten at home by their rivals.

Liverpool's 5-0 victory at Old Trafford represented one of the lowest points in the club's history and mounted pressure on Solskjaer.

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Mason Greenwood has had a stop-start career since blistering emergence at Manchester United

Mason Greenwood had a meteoric rise at Manchester United

Mason Greenwood came through the Manchester United academy and set several records in the early stages of his career. He became the club's youngest European goalscorer and also finished with 10 league goals in his first full season as a professional.

Big things were expected of him following his meteoric rise, but Greenwood's career has not yet reached the blistering heights that were anticipated.

The 20-year-old is still a regular in the first team but has not been consistent with his output which has seen him dropped to the bench on occasion.

His patchy form at Manchester United led to his decision to exclude himself from international duty to focus on rekindling his spark at club level.

Greenwood's talent and ability are not in doubt. The onus is on him to deliver the goods on a more regular basis to distinguish himself as a bonafide world-class player.

At 20, there is still is still more than enough time for Greenwood to become the difference-maker many people expect him to become.