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Manchester Evening News

Ryan Giggs left me shocked by what he did at Man Utd - he absolutely killed them

Gary Neville opened up on the moment in his career he was left 'shocked' by watching Ryan Giggs in action when he was 15 years old

Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs spent his entire footballing career at Manchester United(Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)

Gary Neville has shared his astonishment at witnessing Ryan Giggs play for the first time - recalling how the Manchester United icon "absolutely killed" the opposition.

During a special Transfer Window edition of The Overlap, Neville, alongside Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher, delved into various topics, including the player who made the biggest impression during their first training session.


The Liverpool great posed the question, leading Neville to initially mention Ruud van Nistelrooy - currently an assistant coach at United - for his exceptional striking prowess. However, he ultimately settled on another United alumnus, Ryan Giggs, reports the Mirror.


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Explaining his choice, the Sky Sports analyst remarked: "The most shocked I've ever been at seeing a player first time was Ryan Giggs at 15 playing against Lilleshall.

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"I was sub for United's U15 against Lilleshall, he absolutely killed them, I mean literally killed them. I might have been a year younger and I thought 'what the hell, I've never seen anything like that', so Giggs was the one time I've ever been shocked in my life at a player. I thought that's ridiculous."

Neville's mood certainly suffered this past weekend due to United's last-gasp loss to Brighton on Saturday (August 24), marking their first defeat of the Premier League season.

The former England star didn't hold back in assigning blame for Joao Pedro's late winner, pointing out Casemiro's error and conceding that the defeat heaps more pressure on United boss Erik ten Hag, particularly with a pivotal game against Liverpool on the horizon at Old Trafford.


(Image: The Overlap)

"Really depressing end to the game," he lamented during his commentary for NBC Sports. "I thought a draw would've been half acceptable but to lose the game, it puts an awful lot of pressure, I think, on Erik ten Hag and on towards the game next week against Liverpool."

Expanding further, he remarked: "Then in the second half, the first goal as well was poor defensively, that last goal, I've just watched it then coming up to the gantry. When you clear from a corner, you've got to still defend as you're defending the second phase of a corner.

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"I think particularly if you watch Casemiro, it looks to me, I've only watched it once back on the replay, it looks like he leaves his position at that back post and runs back towards central midfield."

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