Paul Scholes has opened up on the “big thing that struck” him from Manchester United’s crushing 3-0 Premier League defeat to Liverpool at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag’s men head into the September international break on the back of two Premier League defeats, with the Manchester United boss facing heavy criticism.
United defeated Fulham 1-0 at Old Trafford in their opening Premier League match of the 2024-25 campaign before slipping to back-to-back defeats.
The Red Devils first suffered a 2-1 defeat at the Amex against Brighton before Liverpool arrived at Old Trafford on Sunday and inflicted another loss on United.
Luis Diaz scored a first-half brace to put Arne Slot’s men 2-0 up before half-time, with Mohamed Salah extending Liverpool’s advantage to 3-0 in the second half.
United are 14th in the Premier League table after their first three matches, with Paul Scholes now dropping his honest assessment of the Red Devils’ performance.
Scholes on three Man Utd stars
Speaking after the 3-0 defeat, Paul Scholes insisted that he noticed that Liverpool were both “fitter” and “more athletic” than Manchester United players.
The 49-year-old United legend felt that England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo “took time” to start making his presence felt during the contest at Old Trafford.
Scholes added that United captain Bruno Fernandes, who failed to make an impact in the final third with his subpar performance, “looked sluggish” for the Red Devils.
The ex-United midfielder also felt that summer signing Joshua Zirkzee needed more minutes on the pitch after he missed the pre-season tour in the summer.
“The biggest thing I noticed from being pitchside and looking at the players is Liverpool looked fitter and more athletic,” Scholes told Premier League Productions, as per the Metro.
“[Kobbie] Mainoo took time to get going; Bruno Fernandes looked sluggish; [Joshua] Zirkzee needs game time as he hasn’t played.
“That was the big thing that struck me. We’re only early in the season but they are things that worry me – are the team working hard enough behind the scenes to be as fit as they should be? They just didn’t look fit enough.”
Ten Hag on Man Utd defeat to Liverpool
Erik ten Hag spoke out after the humiliating defeat to Liverpool and insisted that United must be “humble,” despite admitting they are “not happy” with the result.
“I think the first half an hour was okay,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“We made a mistake in defensive organisation for the disallowed goal but we were in the game.
“It was equal, level, and then we had a great structure in building up but then made a big error and, with the quality of Liverpool, they took benefit of that. They took their chances so well.
“We have to be humble. We have to give the compliments to Liverpool but, of course, we are not happy.”
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