Scholes: Mourinho would’ve got Maguire sent off at Chelsea

Joe Williams
Harry Maguire Michy Batshuayi Chelsea Manchester United

Paul Scholes reckons that if Jose Mourinho had been in the Chelsea dugout last night then Harry Maguire would have been sent off in Manchester United’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.

Frank Lampard lamented “confusing” Video Assistant Referee (VAR) decisions after Maguire avoided punishment for kicking Michy Batshuayi in the groin area, before the United skipper then thumped in a second-half header to seal the victory.

Anthony Martial also scored for United as they recorded a first league double over Chelsea for 32 years.

16 Conclusions: Chelsea 0-2 Man United

Kurt Zouma and Olivier Giroud saw Chelsea goals chalked off by VAR in a hugely frustrating night for the Blues.

But Scholes thinks Chelsea’s staff were too passive in their reaction to the Maguire incident, which took place right in front of the dugouts.

“I think the reaction from the Chelsea bench could have been a bit more aggressive,” Scholes said (via the Metro).

“I think if Mourinho is on the Chelsea bench he would be going ballistic and been holding his hand up [waving a card].”

Chelsea could have opened up a nine-point gap on the Red Devils with victory, but instead Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men cut the deficit to just three points on the fourth-placed Blues.

“We’re in fourth place by one point, so the season starts here and we need to fight to get fourth place,” Lampard said after the loss.

“We’re fourth and it’s still in our hands. I don’t think many people would have put us in fourth place at this point in the season, so the fight starts now.”