“He is not a fantastic footballer.”
Paul Scholes has targeted two culprits for Man United’s collapse against Sevilla in the Europa League, which saw them crash out of the competition.
United were 2-0 up in the first leg but ended up drawing the game 2-2, and were barely competitive in the second leg, as the Spanish side won 3-0.
En Nesyri scored two goals born from David de Gea’s mistakes, as the goalkeeper had a night that he wold rather forget.
On both occasions the shot stopper was trying to play the ball with his feet, and it was particularly calamitous when his attempted pass met Harry Maguire, and the centre back made a mess of it.
Scholes told BT Sport after the game, that De Gea might not be the right man for Erik ten Hag’s gameplay.
“You have to question the goalkeeper, especially tonight,’ the ex-midfielder said. ‘Erik ten Hag, eventually, will want to play out from the back.
“David de Gea has been a fantastic goalkeeper, but he is not a fantastic footballer. We saw the pass he played into Harry Maguire.
“Look, it’s not a bad pass and I know that Harry Maguire wanted it, but you have to read the situation, read what’s going on in the stadium and it is not a place [to do it].
“Harry Maguire wants the ball and I don’t know why he wants the ball. As I said before, there is only one centre-half in world football who is good receiving the ball with his back to play.”
The ex-United midfielder also highlighted the lack of depth in the squad, and doesn’t see the situation getting any better unless they make some signings in the summer.
"I think he was making the whole team nervous!"
"It's a question of: does he fit Erik ten Hag's philosophy?"
Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves break down David De Gea's performance vs. Sevilla and his future at Man Utd 🧤
🎙️ @julesbreach #UEL pic.twitter.com/cWZmlU5ZqS
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 20, 2023
“They were out-fought, out-played, lacked the ability to take the ball and were so sloppy on the ball and lacked aggression in their own play,’ he explained.
“You turn to experienced players on night like this to get some leadership from them. (Lisandro) Martinez was a big miss, (Raphael) Varane was a big miss and looking out there tonight, it will have made up Ten Hag’s mind on a few of these players.
“This will help him in the summer. He knows by looking at that first 20 minutes, he needs better players to fill his squad.”
Related links:
- David De Gea ‘agrees to accept pay cut’ to sign new Man United deal
- Man United are in talks about making their first summer signing
- Man United fans notice Antony’s reaction to Harry Maguire after second goal
