Roy Keane and Micah Richards clash over Man City defender Kyle Walker ahead of Liverpool

Roy Keane has doubled down on his criticism of Manchester City defender Kyle Walker, claiming the England international is still making too many mistakes. Keane laid into the 31-year-old last season, branding him a “car crash”.

And ahead of City’s Premier League match against Liverpool at Anfield, Keane has let rip once again.

“That’s his job you know,” Keane said. “You’re supposed to run back that’s what defenders do.

“I’ve been critical of him in the past he makes too many mistakes and he relies on his pace to get him out of trouble but he’s had a very good career, it’s his pace that gets him out of a lot of trouble.

“He’s had a great career and I’m sure there’s plenty to come from him, concentration and he makes too many mistakes.”

Ex-City defender Michah Richard, who was Walker’s main challenger for the right-back spot, defended his former team-mate.

“You know when people say its his pace that gets him out of trouble, if you’re a number 10 and he uses his brain, he’s playing to his attributes,” Richards said.

“Look at Man City going forward, when someone tries to counter-attack, he’s always there.

“I’ve seen improvement from when I was challenging him for that right-back spot then when he was at Spurs – at times he was a headless chicken – but his game’s has developed so much.

“I understand the mistakes at times he made a few, I’d put him up there with the top three full-backs in the world right now.”

Jamie Carragher weighed in on Walker and sided with Richards over Keane.

He said: “You’re talking about his recovery pace for the team, Man City have a lot of the ball and he’s brilliant.

“Sometimes he doesn’t even fly forward, he just plays as a centre-back if someone counters them.

“I think what Roy’s talking about is because he is so blessed physically you can lose your concentration and actually being there for the team but it does get him out of trouble.

“But I like him, he’s a fantastic player, he’s England’s right-back.

“Man City and Pep Guardiola can buy any right-back in the world and they went for Kyle Walker, brought Cancelo in but still plays him in every game.

“Whenever you think of your team and you’ve got someone with the afterburners like that it can get him but also his team out of trouble.”

source: express.co.uk