Scholes slams two Man Utd players in Sevilla defeat as he exonerates Maguire

Joe Williams
Man Utd legend Paul Scholes

Paul Scholes has hit out at Man Utd duo Jadon Sancho and David de Gea during the Red Devils’ 3-0 defeat to Sevilla on Thursday night.

Last week Man Utd threw away a commanding quarter-final lead as late Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire own goals saw the first leg end in a chaotic 2-2 draw.

But the Red Devils wilted rather than rallied in the return leg in Spain, falling to an embarrassing loss as Erik ten Hag’s side bowed out of the Europa League 5-2 on aggregate.

Youssef En-Nesyri capitalised on an early Harry Maguire mistake on Thursday and, after Loic Bade’s header, punished De Gea’s slip in a chastening defeat.

And Scholes was frustrated with the way Man Utd started the game in Seville with a number of players, including Sancho, not looking “ready” for the occasion.

Scholes said on BT Sport: “We saw how hostile the crowd were before the game. Sevilla were so aggressive and you’ve got to give them credit.

“During the warm-ups we were eulogising about the crowd and saying how aggressive and hostile it was.

“When the United players see and hear that they need to go into the dressing room and think, ‘I need to be ready for this and my first touch has got to be ready’.

“You see Jadon Sancho in the first five minutes tonight, the ball bounced off him three times, terrible weight of pass too. I’m a big fan of the lad but you’ve got to liven up and be ready.”

And Scholes put the blame on De Gea, and not as much Maguire, for the Man Utd opener with the Spaniard putting the England international in an impossible position.

Scholes added: “The pass from David de Gea just isn’t on. He needs to get rid of it, clear your lines.

“I can only think of one centre-half in world football who would want the ball in that position and be able to handle it. Harry Maguire is not one of them.

“David can see that, he can see that Maguire has three players around him and he’s not comfortable in that position.”

Man Utd will be looking to recover quickly as they prepare to face Brighton at Wembley on Saturday in the FA Cup semi-finals, their final chance to add to their Carabao Cup triumph earlier in the season.

READ MORE: De Gea and Maguire top the bill in an astonishing Man Utd disasterclass in Sevilla