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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Jacob Leeks

Paul Scholes hammers both Antony and Erik ten Hag after Man Utd scrape past Omonia

Paul Scholes has slammed both Manchester United star Antony and his manager Erik ten Hag in the wake of their side's nervy win over Omonia Nicosia.

The Cypriot team surprisingly took the lead over the Red Devils in the first-half, leading until the 53rd minute. United were able to fight back, with Marcus Rashford notching a double and Anthony Martial scoring once to help the visitors claim the three points.

It was far from a vintage performance though, with Ten Hag left unhappy with his side following the win. One of his main frustrations was the performance of his wingers, Jadon Sancho and Antony, who he claimed were "too static".

Scholes agreed with the Dutchman, and delivered a fierce rebuke of Antony's talents. The United legend appears to have been unimpressed with the winger, despite him scoring twice in his first two Premier League games.

“He was right about the wingers being static. Sancho never really runs in behind. he needs a fast left-back if he’s playing on the left, he needs a striker to link with, they haven’t really got that at the moment," Scholes told BT Sport.

“Antony on the other side as well, he doesn’t run in behind. He seems to be a bit of a one-trick pony. He’s always cutting inside and either passing back to the full-back or having a shot. You’re thinking he needs to develop a little bit. It’s still early days for him, we know that.”

HAVE YOUR SAY! Who was man of the match as Manchester United edged past Omonia Nicosia? Comment below.

Scholes was unhappy with both Antony and Ten Hag (Getty Images)

Ten Hag also came under fire from Scholes for his "disrespectful" use of Cristiano Ronaldo. After being left on the bench against Manchester City, the attacker started up-front on Thursday night, but Scholes believes that is a waste of his talent.

"I think it is almost more disrespectful playing him on a Thursday night in the Europa League. This man is a world superstar. I am not saying at 37 years of age he should be starting the games, the big games especially, but this is a competition that is hard to get yourself motivated for," Scholes said.

"I don't like saying that, but it's true when you are a big player at a big club like this. He has to change his mentality now, and because he is so strong mentally, it will be to score two goals and get himself in the team for the weekend.

"When you’ve got a top quality player, not just top quality he’s one of the best that there’s ever been, you think you can come on the pitch and have a say in the game. He wants to be out on the pitch being sat there, look at him, he’s not happy. Going back to respecting him, not bringing him on the pitch because of his career is absolute nonsense in my eyes.

"That man and anybody else wants to go on that pitch because they know they’ve struggled, had a bad time, bad half, they want to go on and do something about it. I’m not saying he would’ve come on and scored four goals but he would want to be on that pitch. It’s more disrespectful in my eyes leaving him sat there watching the game."

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