Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has identified a key issue plaguing his former side, who are currently in the midst of a terrible run of form.
The Red Devils were beaten by FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday, leaving them at the bottom of their group and with a mountain to climb to secure qualification in the UCL knockout stages or even a place in the Europa League.
The loss also means that Erik ten Hag’s men have lost nine of their opening 17 games in all competitions. Pressure is building on Ten Hag, who is facing calls to be sacked by some Man United fans.
There have been accusations that the Ducthman’s ego is getting in the way of progress at Old Trafford, while a few are also arguing that he is not tactically adaptive, as this current United side has no clear playing identity.
However, according to Paul Scholes, United’s major problem is not found in the dugout but on the pitch, where they have no leaders. Scholes claims that once United concede, the floodgates often open.
The Red Devils conceded two quickfire goals as they went down 4-3 to Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday. They also leaked quickfire doubles in their previous Champions League outings against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray and have been prone to the same problem in the league. Against Newcastle, Nottingham Forest and Arsenal, Ten Hag’s men let slip twice in quick succession.
What Paul Scholes said
Scholes told TNT Sports: “I thought they (Man United) showed fight after Rashford was wrongly sent off until the 83rd minute. Where you could say they do slightly crumble is, once they concede one, they concede another straight away. It happened at 2-0 and happened again.
“Dalot sleeps at the back post [for the third goal]. He needs to be aware of where his attacking player is.
“But then I don’t think there’s a character in the team. They’ve got the [former] England captain and Raphael Varane, so much experience in the team, say, “Right, come on, ok, we’ve conceded a goal, relax, make sure we don’t concede another one”.
“There doesn’t seem to be that organisation, that leader in there, to stop the second goal happening, and they paid the ultimate price.”
Man United are back in action this Saturday against newly-promoted Luton Town.
