Paul Scholes has told Bruno Fernandes his performance in Manchester United's loss to Hull City gave him no right to speak. The inquisition into the Reds' opening Premier League defeat to the Tigers is still being made.
Fernandes criticised after defeat
After the loss at the MKM Stadium, Fernandes spoke to the media and said his team-mates made similar mistakes to ones committed last season. United have been busy in the transfer window, particularly when it comes to strengthening the midfield, but Hull outmatched new signings Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, who were both substituted in the second half.
Despite the £85m duo's struggles, Scholes aimed his frustration at Fernandes, particularly for his comments after the match.
Scholes' response
When asked about the United skipper's criticism, Scholes, speaking on the The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, 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."
After the loss to the relegation favourites, Fernandes said to 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 upcoming transfer
Fernandes joined Tielemans and Santos in United's midfield, which had a difficult afternoon against the Tigers. Looking back at the result, United does not believe any of the new additions have been an upgrade, saying: "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 will soon be hoping to unveil Carlos Baleba as a United player. The Brighton and Hove Albion man looks set to be the third central midfielder to join the club this season. Baleba is expected to complete a £70m move from United, which would take the Reds' transfer outlay on central midfielders to £135m. United host Ipswich Town at Old Trafford in their next Premier League fixture on Sunday August 30.
