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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Dan Marsh

Paul Scholes wants £160m Man Utd duo dropped for Everton - "It's not a massive pitch"

Paul Scholes has urged Erik ten Hag to drop Jadon Sancho and Antony for Manchester United's trip to Everton on Sunday.

The United duo failed to make an impact in Thursday night's dramatic 3-2 win over Nicosia Omonia in the Europa League. Both were replaced during the match, with Marcus Rashford grabbing a brace after coming off the bench alongside Anthony Martial, who was also on target to spare United's blushes.

Martial and Rashford impressed either side of Cristiano Ronaldo, who played the full 90 minutes in Cyprus. And although the veteran failed to get on the scoresheet, Scholes believes the 37-year-old should retain his place against Everton at the expense of Sancho and Antony.

When he was asked if he could see Ronaldo retaining his place, Scholes outlined his desire to see the veteran link up with Martial and Rashford in a new-look front three due to the small pitch at Goodison Park.

He told BT Sport: "I can on Sunday, yeah. I think the impression the two subs [Rashford and Martial] have made tonight with Cristiano as well. There aren't a lot of games Cristiano will be able to play in but I think Everton could be one of them. It's not a massive pitch, he won't have to be sprinting out everywhere, working the channels.

"When he's got two wide lads who have got goals in them, I think the two wide lads that played today, Jadon Sancho and Antony, I know Antony scored on Sunday [against Man City], but I think Martial and Rashford look more dangerous. I think they've got a little bit more about them, they can go either way, they're quick, and defenders will be frightened to death of them.

"Cristiano, okay, he had a lot of chances tonight, it didn't quite work for him, it wasn't quite his night, but that won't happen for long with Cristiano. If he gets chances, if he gets chances on Sunday he will score."

Join the debate! Do you think Ronaldo should start against Everton on Sunday? Let us know here.

Paul Scholes believes Erik ten Hag should drop Antony and Jadon Sancho (MB Media)

Owen Hargreaves, another former Manchester United midfielder, was in agreement with Scholes and pointed out the promising link-up play between Ronaldo and Rashford.

He added: "They linked up really well, Marcus and Cristiano. Marcus is great running with the ball and it’s a really good run from Cristiano [for United’s equaliser]. It’s nice to see them linking up, often we see them at times both having shots.

"I think they can link up together with Martial, Marcus and Cristiano through the middle because they can play wide.

"It's nice to see Marcus being really positive because I think when he runs with the ball he's actually almost impossible to play against, he's quick, he's strong, he's a good striker of the ball, with Martial and Cristiano there's options there to be positive about."

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