Manchester United legend Paul Scholes slammed Antony and Alejandro Garnacho, labeling the pair’selfish’ after the Red Devils were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, December 12.
Manchester United faced Group A leaders Bayern Munich in a must-win game at Old Trafford on Tuesday. They knew they needed all three points, as well as other results to go their way, in order to qualify for the UCL Round of 16.
Manchester United, on the other hand, failed to establish any meaningful attacking threat as they were defeated 1-0 by Bayern Munich. The Bavarians took all three points thanks to Kingsley Coman’s strike in the 70th minute.
Due to illness, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial missed the game, therefore Antony and Garnacho began for the third time in a row. However, they lacked inventiveness and failed to integrate Rasmus Hojlund in the game, which irritated Scholes.
Scholes explained to TNT Sport (via METRO):
“My main concern is the center forward.” We can’t give him a chance. I know he’s scored five goals in the Champions League, but he hasn’t scored any in the league, hasn’t had a chance tonight, and I don’t think he had a chance against Bournemouth on Saturday.”
He went on to say:
“Where the goals are coming from is a major concern.” You want your wide players, Antony and Garnacho, to be creative, but they are rather selfish. They are not gazing up; they are concentrating about scoring their own goals, scoring themselves.”
Garnacho struggled to make an impact on Manchester United’s left wing. The Argentine was dispossessed five times and failed to land either of his two crosses. He also had no opportunities created and no shots on goal.
Similarly, Antony did not attempt a single cross and did not create any chances. He also lost nine duels, and his one shot during the game was off target.
Who was named the Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich UCL Player of the Match?
Manchester United failed to rise to the occasion, as they were eliminated from the Champions League after losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
UEFA selected Kingsley Coman the Player of the Match after scoring the game’s lone goal. He addressed the media, saying (as reported by The Athletic):
“It was a great way to end the group stage and a great performance.” (I don’t usually score), but I kept my calm and I’m glad it went in. We’re overjoyed to have reached this point. We are aware of the types of teams that will be waiting for us there. We know how far we’ve come in prior seasons. We want to succeed once more.”
Coman received an 8.4 rating on FotMob. In 77 minutes on the field, he had an 88% pass accuracy, generated one great chance, and scored a good goal. The 27-year-old also recovered six times and won nine duels.