Paul Scholes has criticised a decision made by Ruben Amorim at Manchester United – despite the Red Devils recently reaching the final of the Europa League.
Scholes’ former side romped to a 7-1 aggregate victory against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, winning the second leg 4-1 at Old Trafford having come out 3-0 victors in Spain the week prior.
With the win, they have given themselves a real shot of qualifying for the Champions League next season – either themselves or fellow finalists Tottenham will do so by lifting the Europa League.
It’s something United would not have achieved via the Premier League. Needing to finish in the top five to do so, the Red Devils are currently 15th in the standings and could yet finish as low as 17th.
Amorim has often fielded a weaker side in the Premier League to save his key players for Europe, with the likes of Bruno Fernandes on the bench for the defeat by Brentford last time out.
That, though, has been an error, according to Scholes. Writing for TNT Sports, the former midfielder suggested Amorim’s side should have put more thought into the Premier League due to the nature of the competition.
A decision made by Ruben Amorim (pictured) at Manchester United has drawn criticism from Paul Scholes
United have reached the Europa League final, but struggled in the Premier League – perhaps as a result
Scholes suggested Amorim hasn’t put teams out to win games in the top flight so far this term
‘Manchester United should be able to play in two or three competitions at once without sacrificing something,’ Scholes wrote. ‘And they’ve clearly sacrificed the league.
‘I don’t like it and I don’t agree with it and I believe there has to be some sort of standards required in a Premier League team.
‘It’s almost as if they go into Premier League games and there’s an acceptance that they’re not going to win the game, which is madness.
There is only one man to blame, too, according to Scholes. It is Amorim who has made the call to ring the changes in league action, with United swapping eight from the Brentford loss for the visit of Athletic Bilbao.
And Scholes made quite the accusation surrounding the United boss in his column – suggesting he has no care at all for the league results.
‘I think the acceptance has come from everyone,’ Scholes continued. ‘I think it’s come from the manager, even though he won’t admit it.
‘He’s not playing teams to win games of football in the league. I think even fans are thinking, “Let’s get these league games out of the way because the league has been a disaster”.
‘They’re probably thinking, “Play whoever you want, we don’t care”. There’s an acceptance to it, which I think is wrong, because the Premier League is your bread and butter.’
