Paul Scholes Singles Out Manchester United Player Following Draw With Fenerbahce
Paul Scholes criticised Manchester United’s full-back Diogo Dalot after United’s 1-1 draw against Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
Once again, United failed to capitalise after taking the lead in a European fixture, a recurring issue in recent times.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce side managed to hold United to a 1-1 result, as a defensive lapse allowed Youssef En-Nesyri to score an equaliser in the 49th minute.
Andre Onana was impressive in goal for United, delivering a brilliant double save in the first half, but he was powerless against Fenerbahce’s goal as Moroccan forward En-Nesyri rose to head in Allan Saint-Maximin’s cross.
Paul Scholes Highlighted Diogo Dalot’s Errors After The Game
Diogo Dalot tried to stay with Saint-Maximin but ultimately allowed him enough room to cut inside and deliver a cross which led to the equaliser.
Paul Scholes was a pundit for TNT Sports on their coverage of the game, and singled out Dalot’s defensive approach in that moment, highlighting how the Portuguese defender often gives wingers too much room in critical areas.
“I think Dalot’s guilty of that quite a bit,” said Scholes. “You know exactly what Saint-Maximin is going to do in that situation.
“He [Dalot] needs to show more urgency, get out to him because you know they’ve got a dangerous player in the box.
“It’s a great ball in and he’s not going to miss from there, but Dalot doesn’t do that enough.
“He’s been okay, one of the better players for United this season, but he needs to get that side of his game right.
“You have to stop that at source otherwise they’re going to score because he’s a real threat.”
For United, it felt like a missed opportunity in Turkey, with more points dropped from a winning position in Europe this season. The draw leaves us on 3 points out of a possible 9 so far, and puts us in 21st position in the table.
Scholes went on to remark that, under the circumstances, United’s draw in Turkey was a fair outcome, given the challenge of facing Mourinho’s team on their home ground.
“The two results you have to say: Porto away, tough place to go, good draw. Fenerbahce away, good draw. It’s the home game that was really disappointing, the Twente game, you should be beating those teams.
“They’re in a terrible position in that Europa League, they’ve got to start winning games soon.”