Pranav Nair
Paul Scholes fires a warning at Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following Young Boys humbling
According to BT Sport (h/t Mirror), Manchester United legend, Paul Scholes has fired a warning at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following the club’s shock defeat to Young Boys last night.
The Red Devils went into the game as heavy favourites only to be force-fed humble pie. Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring on the night in the 13th minute and United looked to be on their way to an easy win.
However, Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s sending off in the 35th minute saw United concede the initiative and play catch up for the remainder of the night. The Swiss side eventually pounced on a Jesse Lingard mistake and won the game in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
According to the report, Scholes has compared yesterday’s loss to the capitulation at Istanbul a year ago. The defeat that night in Turkey proved to be pivotal in our hopes of qualifying for the last 16.
“It’s Basaksheir all over again. We were here last season and rueing mistakes.”
He goes on to add that while Solskjaer deserves credit for building a team, it will matter for little unless he can fulfil their potential. Scholes also goes on to admit that the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City all have more capable managers who can get the best out of their charges. Not something we will argue with.
“You’ve got Ole who has done a fantastic job building this squad, now is the time with that squad of players. He has to win something.”
While playing with 10 men is not easy, it can be argued that Wan-Bissaka’s exit brought about a change in mentality that bordered on the defensive. Jadon Sancho was taken off for Diogo Dalot while Donny van de Beek was pulled for Raphael Varane.
The Red Devils reverted to a back five and looked to preserve their lead rather than look to win the game. This shift in tactics lies on Solskjaer’s shoulders, not to mention the curious substitutions. Taking off Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo for Nemanja Matic and Jesse Lingard is not one that inspires confidence.
More Manchester United News
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Solskjaer has been offered enough leeway and has gotten away with results that another manager might have been sacked for. This goodwill cannot go on forever. The Norwegian today has an excellent squad at his disposal and has to deliver results. Failing which it is fair to say we will need to look elsewhere.
