Paul Scholes has raised his eyebrow over a repeated call that Erik ten Hag has made in Manchester United’s opening three Premier League matches of the season.
Manchester United have managed only three Premier League points out of a possible nine since their Community Shield defeat to Manchester City at Wembley last month.
The Red Devils kicked off their 2024-25 Premier League campaign in August and secured a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford.
However, United were then dealt a major blow after Erik ten Hag’s men suffered a 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the Amex last month.
Erik ten Hag’s woes at Old Trafford continued after United’s second consecutive Premier League defeat ahead of the September international break.
United welcomed Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday and Arne Slot’s men outclassed and outplayed Ten Hag’s side in the Premier League clash.
Luis Diaz’s first-half brace put Liverpool in complete control of the tie going into half-time before Mohamed Salah scored the Reds’ third in the second half.
Scholes on Man Utd and Ten Hag
Paul Scholes was critical of one decision that he has spotted from Manchester United under manager Erik ten Hag this season after the Liverpool defeat.
Lisandro Martinez has started and played all 90 minutes of United’s opening three Premier League matches in the heart of defence.
However, the same can’t be said for Lisandro Martinez’s partners, who have all failed to play 90 minutes in a single Premier League match in the 2024-25 campaign.
Harry Maguire started alongside Martinez in the 1-0 win over Fulham and was hooked off in the 81st minute for Jonny Evans.
The 31-year-old former United star returned to the starting XI for the Brighton clash before he was withdrawn again in the 79th minute for Matthijs de Ligt.
Matthijs de Ligt, who was signed from Bayern Munich in the summer, made his first Premier League start for United against Liverpool and Maguire dropped to the bench.
However, the 25-year-old Dutch centre-back played only 69 minutes of the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool before he was swapped out for Maguire.
“If you have a centre-half who can’t get through a game, that’s a concern,” Scholes told Premier League Productions, as per the Metro.
“That tells me you’re not fit enough straight from the off. Back fours should always stay on early.
“You may bring a full-back off here and there but two centre-halves should be there for the full game and it’s been the first three games that they’ve changed it [during the game]. How can a centre-back not be fit enough?
“You have the excuse of the Euros and you can say it takes a bit of time to get going but Liverpool had players there as well. Other teams had players there – you don’t see them struggling.”
Ten Hag on positives from Liverpool defeat
Despite Liverpool’s commanding performance against United, Ten Hag insisted that there were some positives to take away for the Red Devils.
“I think the team showed resilience and kept fighting for each other,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“They stuck together and were still executing the plan. They dealt with the mistakes they made and I think that is also a platform to continue on with the season.”
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