Paul Scholes called Manchester United summer signing Antony a ‘one-trick pony’ and criticised Jadon Sancho after the club’s Europa League scare against Omonia Nicosia.
Omonia, who are fourth in the Cypriot First Division, took a shock lead into half-time after Karim Ansarifard broke the deadlock.
United had wasted a number of chances before Omonia’s opener and were back level eight minutes after the restart through substitute Marcus Rashford.
Rashford then provided an assist for Anthony Martial before scoring his second of the evening to put Manchester United 3-1 up.
On what turned out to be a tense evening for Premier League giants United, Nikolas Panayiotou pulled a goal back for Omonia late on.
Scholes said United’s 3-2 win highlighted some of the issues in Erik ten Hag’s side and thought both Antony and Sancho were too ‘static’ to make a big impact.
Antony, who completed a £81m move from Ajax over the summer, has largely impressed for the Red Devils, scoring on his Premier League debut and also netting in the 6-3 Manchester derby defeat.
But Scholes is concerned that Antony is over-reliant on his trademark move, labelling him ‘a bit of a one-trick pony’.
Old Trafford hero Scholes was also underwhelmed by Sancho’s performance in Cyprus, with the England star replaced at half-time after struggling to make an impact.
Ten Hag said in his post-match interview that Manchester United were ‘too static’ in the first half and Scholes agreed, telling BT Sport: ‘He was right about the wingers being static.
‘Sancho never really runs in behind. He needs a fast left-back really or a centre forward to link up with and he hasn’t really got that at the moment.
‘Antony on the other side as well, he doesn’t run in behind. He seems to be a bit of a one-trick pony.
‘He’s always cutting inside and either passing back to the full-back or having a shot. You’re thinking he needs to develop a little bit. It’s still early days for him, we know that.’
More to follow…
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