Roy Keane issues new Manchester United prediction after 'setback' in Champions League race | OneFootball

Red Devils missed chance to pull clear of fellow European hopefuls as Leeds won at Old Trafford

Roy Keane believes Manchester United will have ‘no problem’ qualifying for the Champions League despite the ‘big setback’ of defeat by Leeds on Monday night.

The Red Devils had the chance to go three points clear of fourth-placed Aston Villa with a win, but were well beaten by a plucky, relegation-threatened Leeds side.

Noah Okafor’s first-half brace proved decisive, cancelling out Casemiro’s second-half consolation, which followed Lisandro Martinez’s contentious sending off.

There is some cause for concern, though, after a turgid performance aganist Leeds, and Keane said Michael Carrick had work to do.

"They'll be disappointed,” he declared of his former team. “They've had a lot of momentum over the last few months and praise for the manager.

"There was concern going into the game that they hadn't played for a number of weeks, but Carrick said it wouldn't be a problem.

"But when you start a game that slowly, it's hard to recover. You've got to run and Man Utd weren't sprinting. A little bit at the end, but it was too little, too late.

"It's a big setback for them. The midfield was non-existent, particularly in the first half. No energy, no quality and Leeds were out of the blocks quickly. A fantastic result for them."

He continued, adding Carrick must refrain from focusing his frustration on officiating and look at his own performance.

"He's obviously frustrated with some of the refereeing decisions, but you have to suck it up as well.

"When you start the game so slowly, Man Utd never got going.

"He'll always be learning about this group, he's only been in the job a few months and you're going to have your ups and downs. It's been all plaudits so far for him so it's a big setback.”

Crucially, though, Keane gave Carrick a vote of confidence as he faces up to the business end of the Premier League campaign.

"There'll be no problem with Man Utd getting into the Champions League, but they won't want to end the season badly either.

"They'll want to finish on a high and keep that run going. Against Leeds with the way they performed, it's a big setback for them."