Paul Scholes has admitted that he is ‘baffled’ at the appointment of Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick after Manchester City’s crushing 4-1 derby win on Sunday.
A first-half Kevin De Bruyne brace and a Riyad Mahrez double in the second half secured an emphatic victory for Pep Guardiola’s men at the Etihad.
City’s steamrolling of the Red Devils has left their cross-town rivals one point behind fourth-place Arsenal, with the Gunners having three matches in hand.
Rangnick, 63, now faces an uphill task in leading United to a top-four finish and securing Champions League football for next season.
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The former RB Leipzig boss arrived at Old Trafford as interim manager after United cult hero Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was axed by the club last November.
Rangnick, who inked a six-month deal with the Red Devils, will step down as caretaker manager at the end of the season and will take up a consultancy role at Old Trafford.
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Following the Manchester derby, Scholes brutally slammed his former side for appointing an interim manager who has never “coached at an elite team.”
Joined by former United teammate Michael Owen and City hero Yaya Toure, the Red Devils legend pulled no punches towards Rangnick in his scathing criticism.
“What do we expect? We’ve brought in an interim coach who hasn’t coached at an elite team,” Scholes said.
“He hasn’t coached a big team, he hasn’t coached at a big football club like United where there’s so much expected of Manchester United. Whoever you’re playing against, it doesn’t matter.
“He’s never been at a top club. He’s coached a club for two years out of the last 10 years.
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“How have United behind the scenes come to the conclusion that this man is going to be the right man for six or seven months? It baffles me.
“The players are lost on the football pitch.The first 20 minutes I was surprised they played really well, they were comfortable on the ball, [Paul] Pogba up front looked alright.
“His subs have worked the last few weeks don’t get me wrong but it was a deflated team.
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“As much as you can have a go at United today, they’re playing against possibly one of the best teams we’ve seen.”
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The former United midfielder continued: “In the second half, the players looked lost. They looked like they didn’t have a clue what they were doing.”
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Scholes, who spent his entire club career at United, added that United were “lucky” they didn’t concede more against City.
The 47-year-old BT Sport pundit also slammed the idea that United look much better defensively under Rangnick than they did under Solskjaer.
“They’re lucky it’s not five or six. Again the goalkeeper, five or six saves,” Scholes added.
“You spoke before the game saying defensively since Ole’s gone he’s sured things up -- he hadn’t. Never in a million years. He’s kidding himself if he thinks that.
“The ‘keeper has stopped him from getting batterings for a long time. Today was exactly the same.”
Topics: Paul Scholes, Manchester United, Manchester City, Premier League, England, Football
Adnan Riaz