Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville has claimed that the Red Devils were "killed in midfield" during Sunday's 1-0 defeat at Chelsea in the Premier League.

United entered the match eight points behind leaders Manchester City in the Premier League table, and that remained the case at full time after Alvaro Morata scored the only goal of the game.

Neville has said that the absences of Paul Pogba and Michael Carrick really hurt United, with Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan losing the midfield battle against the Premier League champions.

"I thought they got killed in midfield. Jose Mourinho, since the Liverpool game, has talked about not being able to freshen it up. I thought Herrera, Matic and Mkhitaryan got absolutely ambushed," Neville told Sky Sports News.

"[N'Golo] Kante was doing his job brilliantly, [Tiemoue] Bakayoko was running off him, [Eden] Hazard and [Cesc] Fabregas were dropping in and controlling the match. United were just well short in that area. If you dominate midfield in the big games, you're in business and Chelsea did.

"I think Pogba is a big miss because of his confidence and arrogance. He takes the ball into tight areas, holds the ball, beats a man. Michael Carrick, too - he delivers those passes up to strikers, to the side of defenders, and I think those two players would have made a big difference."

United will look to return to winning ways when they host Newcastle United after the international break.