Never change, Paul
Given what had just unfolded at Old Trafford, you’d have forgiven those connected with Manchester United for getting a little bit carried away.
Still reeling from the dismal defeat at Leicester at the weekend, United found themselves two goals down at home to Atalanta inside half an hour. This, surely, was another nail in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coffin, teeing things up nicely for Liverpool to finish the job at the weekend.
But no.
Back came United, halving the deficit through Marcus Rashford early in the second half, drawing level via Harry Maguire 15 minutes later and finally getting ahead through – inevitably – Cristiano Ronaldo. A 3-2 win that puts them on top of their Champions League group and eases some of the pressure heaped upon their manager.
While most viewed it as a cause for celebration, Paul Scholes wasn’t quite so thrilled at what he had seen – more concerned at their first half display than the enthralling manner of their second half comeback.
“The first half really worried me,” Scholes said on. BT Sport. “I get it. People are going to say I’m miserable and I’ll probably get slagged off by United fans.
“But I looked at that game thinking about Liverpool on Sunday. Maybe that’s the wrong thing to do. I thought in that first half United were all over the place.
“They were disjointed. They had the two midfield players playing on their own. Now if you do that against Manchester City or Liverpool, at half-time it will be 3 or 4-0. You’ll be out of the game and you’re not coming back.
“And yeah, it’s great watching and seeing the excitement and the United Way… It’s brilliant and I know that, but that first half just stuck with me.”
He added: “They’ve come back and shown great spirit, yeah, but they’ve still conceded so many chances. Now if you’re playing against quality players, there’s no way you’re winning that game. Not a chance.
“Now everyone will get a little but carried away by this euphoria, but will he play that way against Liverpool on Sunday?
“It was that brilliant, it was that good. Everyone’s smiling and happy. Go and do that on Sunday against Liverpool and see what happens.
“Imagine Jurgen Klopp sat at home watching that game in the first half, rubbing his hands.”
"Go and do that against Liverpool on Sunday, see what happens."
"Imagine Jurgen Klopp watching that at home, rubbing his hands together."
Paul Scholes won't let a late Ronaldo winner paper over the cracks of that first-half performance from Man Utd.#UCL pic.twitter.com/Dzt9FEC67v
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 20, 2021
Some might call him out for being miserable, but it’s hard to argue with Scholes on any of this. And at a time when some of his former teammates have been accused of going out of their way not to be too critical of Solskjaer and his team, hearing such brutal honesty, even in the immediate aftermath of a thrilling comeback, was quite refreshing.
Related links:
- Man Utd secure vital Champions League comeback victory against Atalanta
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer clarifies comment on Marcus Rashford’s ‘priorities’
- Gary Neville says he refuses to call out “mate” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
