BT pundit Paul Scholes slammed Manchester United‘s display on Sunday afternoon as they lost 3-1 at Watford, claiming Marcus Rashford is their “only shining light” at present.
Following their eye-opening defeat in the Manchester derby last weekend, Jose Mourinho’s men then lost their opening Europa League fixture on Thursday night, going down 1-0 at Feyenoord. However Sunday’s trip to Vicarage Road didn’t halt the slump, as Watford played very well throughout the game.
Etienne Capoue gave the Hornets a deserved first half lead, before Rashford added another goal to his growing tally in the second period for United’s equaliser. With time running out though, it was Walter Mazzarri’s men who applied the late pressure, which eventually told when Juan Zuniga put them back in front in the 83rd minute.
Troy Deeney’s injury-time penalty secured the result, leaving the Red Devils in a tricky position at this early stage. Unsurprisingly Scholes wasn’t impressed, but he did highlight Rashford for praise following his second half strike.
“The quality on the ball was as poor as you’ve seen from a Man United team, and that’s just the way it is at the minute,” the pundit told BT Sport post- match. “You’re not sure what you’re going to get. Rashford is probably the only shining light really and he didn’t have his best game today, but he looked a threat.
“I just think in possession Man United were really, really poor. Individually it wasn’t good enough. In possession it wasn’t good enough. So sloppy, giving the ball away all the time.”
The 18-year-old has made an excellent start to the campaign, scoring two goals and creating three chances in three Premier League appearances, as he’s forced his way into Mourinho’s starting line-up in the opening weeks.
United now sit seventh on nine points, one behind the top four and six adrift of early leaders Manchester City, who’ve made a perfect start under Pep Guardiola. Next up for them is a trip to Northampton Town in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, followed by a home clash with champions Leicester City on Saturday.
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