Paul Scholes has told Bruno Fernandes to "shut his mouth" after the Manchester United captain criticised his team-mates following the 2-0 defeat to Hull City. Fernandes blasted United for repeating the clumsy errors they made last season after the shock result, which was only Michael Carrick's second Premier League defeat as United manager.
United spent £85 million on midfield duo Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, who were both hauled off in the second half as United looked for a route back into the game. After Fernandes' cutting honesty about how he and his team-mates played against Hull, Scholes expressed his unhappiness with the Portuguese ace's comments.
Scholes hits back at Fernandes
When quizzed about the United captain's criticism, Scholes, speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football, sponsored by Midnite, said: "When you perform the way he did as well, I think it's probably best to keep your mouth shut, because he didn't have his best performance either."
Following the defeat to the relegation favourites, Fernandes told TNT Sports: "Same mistakes as we did last season, every away game we give too much of the ball to them. In the first 20 minutes, the goalkeeper was the one with the most touches.
"We needed to press more, be more aggressive, and then again we need to work on set-plays and not concede these type of goals. Against these types of teams, they are waiting for that moment.
"We knew before the game set-pieces would be a big part of their game. They played all pre-season with a back four but had a five against us for some height, for these moments. The most frustrating thing is that we lost the game."
Midfield concerns and new signing
Fernandes slotted alongside Tielemans and Santos in United's midfield, which endured a torrid afternoon against the Tigers. Reflecting on the outcome, Scholes does not believe any of the new additions have been an upgrade, stating: "You speak about recruitment wise and I saw the central midfield the other day and I thought 'that is no better than last'.
"I mean, when you're recruiting players and looking for a different team, you think, 'I've got to get better.' To me, on Saturday, that wasn't better than Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro together."
United are hopeful of shortly unveiling Carlos Baleba as their latest signing. The Brighton & Hove Albion star appears set to become the third central midfielder to arrive at the club this campaign. Baleba is anticipated to complete a £70 million switch to United, which would push the Reds' total spending on central midfielders to £135 million.
United welcome Ipswich Town to Old Trafford in their next Premier League outing on Sunday, August 30.
