Scholes' prediction for Man Utd's Copenhagen clash speaks volumes

08 November 2023 , 08:13

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Scholes' prediction for Man Utd's Copenhagen clash speaks volumes

Paul Scholes might have lifted the Champions League with Manchester United but he has little faith in the current crop going all the way this time around.

In fact, the club's iconic ex-midfielder is less than convinced Erik ten Hag's side can even get a result in Copenhagen, despite beating the Danish Superliga champions 1-0 last time out. That win took them to three points and third place in the group, but defeat in Denmark will leave their fate out of their hands ahead of the the last two rounds of group games.

Copenhagen were widely perceived to be the weakest team in Group A, but it took Andre Onana to make a last-gasp penalty save from Jordan Larsson for the Red Devils to seem them off at Old Trafford. And Scholes has pointed to United's Europa League capitulation in Sevilla last season as a worrying sign ahead of the return clash.

Asked on TNT Sports if he was backing United to progress to the last-16, he replied candidly: "If I was a betting man, I’d say no. They showed last year they’re frail in away games, you think of Sevilla away. It was a brilliant atmosphere, it was hostile, they crumbled, they couldn’t handle it."

And the 49-year-old also made a scathing implication about the mentality of Ten Hag's players, adding: "It makes me worry about going to Copenhagen, who aren’t a brilliant team but they’re organised. I don’t know if there’s the character and fighters in that team to be able to cope with a big atmosphere.

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"It’s so hard going to Copenhagen, these European away games are tough. If they make it a hostile atmosphere, you have to worry about the frailty of Manchester United – they could really crumble under that pressure."

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It was Jacob Neestrup's side who created the better early chances in the game between the two sides last month, but were eventually undone by Harry Maguire's 72nd minute header. And Scholes also conceded his former club "were very lucky" first time around.

"They (United) didn’t play very well at all," he added. And in an endorsement of their hopes that was anything but glowing, quipped: "They have half a chance of qualifying."

The pressure on manager Ten Hag was partially eased on Saturday by the late 1-0 win at Fulham. But failure to progress to the knockout stages in Europe will increase scrutiny in his position amid United's worst start to a top-flight season in 63 years.

Fraser Watson