Manchester United succumbed to their 3rd defeat of the Premier League season after a 3-0 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
The performance was below-par at Old Trafford. The Red Devils could have conceded more than 3 goals against Spurs and their blushes were saved by some brilliant shot-stopping from Andre Onana.
Speaking after the disappointing defeat, Man United legend Paul Scholes said he is not impressed with the new signings and went on to slam Matthijs de Ligt. He added he is not an upgrade on Harry Maguire.
He told Supersport (via Daily Mail): “When you bring players in, you expect them to be a lot better than who you’ve already got. I don’t see players coming in who are a big difference. De Ligt has come in for Maguire, let’s say, but there’s no big difference there. No, absolutely not.”
Criticism
Scholes has questioned United’s decision to sign de Ligt from the start. He was critical over the transfer and the Dutchman did not do much to prove him wrong yesterday. He won just 3 duels in the game and failed to make a successful tackle.
The ex-Bayern Munich star completed just 25% of his long balls. Scholes believes he is not an upgrade on Maguire in the starting XI and it remains to be seen whether the Dutchman can redeem himself over the forthcoming matches.
United had a good schedule to start the campaign, but they find themselves 6 points behind the top four. The club have not made a good start in the Europa League league phase either. They played out a 1-1 draw against Twente last week.
The Red Devils face Porto and Villa in the Europa League and Premier League before the internationals. Both games are on the road and it could be a huge test for United’s backline and de Ligt has to step up with better performances.
A couple of more defeats could lead to Ten Hag’s dismissal during the October international break.
