Scholes hits out at 'sloppy' Man Utd in Bilbao win as he makes second leg prediction

Man Utd legend Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes during his role as a TNT Sports pundit.
Paul Scholes insists Man Utd were "sloppy" in the second half of their 3-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Thursday night in the Europa League.

An opening goal from Casemiro put the Red Devils ahead in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against the Basque outfit after Man Utd survived early pressure from the home side.

Man Utd captain Fernandes converted a penalty to increase their lead when VAR advised the on-field referee to send off Dani Vivian and award a spot-kick after he brought down Rasmus Hojlund in the area.

Fernandes made it 3-0 just before half-time with a wonderful, whipped finish past the onrushing Bilbao goalkeeper as Man Utd took control of the tie.

Man Utd had more chances in the second half to make their advantage greater but Red Devils legend Scholes reckons they were "sloppy at times".

Scholes told TNT Sports: "I still think second half they were a little bit sloppy at times. I think they could have managed the game a little bit better, possibly gone for the fourth and fifth goals.

"But when you're playing against 10 men you don't give the other team a sniff of the ball."

Scholes added: "I think if they'd kept the ball better another goal would have come.

"The one thing they didn't want was to concede a goal and that never looked like it was going to happen."

Despite Man Utd losing in the Premier League by three goals on three occasions this season, Scholes is still backing them to get the job done next week.

Scholes continued: "At 3-0 this should be over, but it's United these days we don't really know what we're going to get. They have been beaten at home 3-0 by a couple of teams this year.

"You always go into it saying it's not over, but really from here it should be over and I think it is."

After scoring a brace on Thursday, Fernandes told TNT Sports: "You need to grow and understand where you are, the place you play for and club you play for.

"United is a global club, it's unbelievable the attention we get, the pressure we get, everything.

"But it's football, it's what we love to do. I feel the pressure with every penalty, I feel the pressure.

"I think that's the good thing about football, it's what we have to enjoy because when I finish my career that pressure will go away and I will be much more relaxed."

Fernandes is now just three goals away from 40 goal contributions in all competitions this season and he has vowed to try and "keep delivering" for Man Utd.

The Man Utd captain added: "I want to score, I want to assist.

"It's a big part of my game, I need to take that responsibility because I know since I came to the club, and even before, the club bought me because I scored 32 goals in one season.

"They knew I could create, I could score, and I just need to keep delivering, because if you want to be at the highest level, you have to keep delivering."

Comments

Keep up to date with our latest articles and uploads...