Paul Scholes believes that Manchester United lacked leadership against Copenhagen on Wednesday night, despite club captain Bruno Fernandes playing the full 90 minutes. The Red Devils were beaten 4-3 in Denmark to pile more pressure on manager Erik ten Hag, who has overseen a torrid start to the season.
Things were looking up for the Red Devils when a first-half brace from Rasmus Hojlund put them in control against Copenhagen. The hosts notched two goals of their own to level things up at the interval, with Marcus Rashford’s red card also setting the tone for more fireworks in the second period.
Bruno himself got on the scoresheet from the penalty spot, but late strikes from Lukas Lerager and 17-year-old Roony Bardghji sealed a memorable night for the Danish side, with Scholes adamant that his former club lacked the necessary leadership to haul a result over the line.
“They’re going to play better teams than Copenhagen but I thought there was some fight in the performance,” Scholes told TNT Sports after the final whistle.
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“They’re just lacking a bit of leadership. Maybe if Casemiro was in there, things might have been different. It’s just that collapsing that’s really hurting them at the minute. Once they concede one, the second one is always coming.”
Although Fernandes was not mentioned explicitly by Scholes, the claim that United were lacking leaders is hardly a positive reflection on his captaincy. It doesn’t paint Harry Maguire or Jonny Evans in a particularly good light either, with the experienced centre-back duo also turning out in Denmark.
“Managers have been sacked in that second and third year but I don’t think we can afford to do it anymore. We’ve got to let this fella go with it. I think he’s been good up to this point.”
United are now rock bottom of Group A with only one victory from four matches. Nothing less than a win will do against Galatasaray later this month, but first it’s back to domestic action as Luton Town visit Old Trafford on Saturday.
