Gary Neville calls two Manchester United stars ‘irreplaceable’

Gary Neville has hailed the Manchester United duo as ‘irreplaceable’ as the Red Devils booked their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Manchester United continued their run of good form with a 2-0 win over Everton that saw them qualify for the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, where they will take on Manchester City.

It was not all smooth sailing for Solskjaer’s men though. Despite a brilliant start to the game, they failed to score, allowing Everton back into the game. And Carlo Ancelotti’s side were probably the better team in the second half.

Edinson Cavani managed to score late on to give the Red Devils the lead with a beautiful strike. And then Anthony Martial put the matter beyond any doubt deep into stoppage time. Two other players managed to catch the eye of Gary Neville though.

Speaking on Sky Sports Podcast and as reported by the Mirror, the Manchester United legend said:

"“They are the two players who I think are irreplaceable.“Fernandes is irreplaceable, they are a way off without him. He’s a vital piece of the jigsaw.“Maguire, I think, you’d know if he was missing. My gut feeling is that they would miss him enormously.“I know some people say he’s not the best defender in the league, that he’s not done brilliantly since he came for £80m, but he’s a big presence in the heart of the defence.“He’s good on the ball, he’s composed and he’s good in the air.“He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, sometimes he gets caught but he’s a good centre-back, a really good centre-back and a big presence in that team.“Him and Fernandes, I’m not sure they can [rest them] at this moment in time because Ole hasn’t got the luxury to lose a game, unfortunately.”"

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Solskjaer had made nine changes to his line up on the night. And the only two who retained their place were Fernandes and Maguire.

We don’t need to tell you why Fernandes is ‘irreplaceable’. The Portuguese international has been an absolute superstar since moving to Old Trafford in January. And he might very well be the best player in the Premier League at this point of time.

The choice of Maguire is a bit more interesting though. The English defender has got a lot of stick since his £80 million move from Leicester City. And although he might not have proven that he is worth that kind of money yet, he is a very solid defender nonetheless.

The fact that he has played every minute of football for United in the Premier League this season just speaks volumes about how much Solskjaer trusts the player. And the captain is slowly starting to repay that with some solid performances.