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Paul Scholes backs Manchester United as ‘best of the rest’ behind Pep Guardiola’s City this season… after admitting he was ‘really concerned’ that his former club would finish outside the top six after their humble defeat at Brentford
- Manchester United lost their first two games against Brighton and Brentford
- Paul Scholes thought the team might finish outside the top six after those games
- Since then, however, they have won five of their last six Premier League matches
- Scholes now believes United can finish second behind Manchester City
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Paul Scholes believes Manchester United could finish second in the Premier League this season, despite being ‘really concerned’ that the Red Devils would finish outside the top six after their first two games of the season.
Under new manager Erik ten Hag, United made the worst possible start to the season, losing 2-1 at home to Brighton, before being thrashed 4-0 by Brentford the following week.
Those results kept them in the bottom three, but have since racked up 15 points out of a possible 18 to get within a point of the top four. Scholes has been impressed with the progress his former club have made and believes they can be ‘best of the rest’ behind defending champions Manchester City this season.
Paul Scholes thinks Manchester United are capable of finishing second in the Premier League
When United lost to Brentford in August, Scholes feared they would finish outside the top six
“After those first two games I was really worried that they wouldn’t finish in the top six,” Scholes told BT Sport.
“But because of the way they’ve fought back and won five of their last six games, they’ve given themselves a great opportunity. They look like they could be the best of the rest (behind City).
“I think they have the squad they could be. It is still very early for some of these players, including the manager and his staff. The longer it takes, the more confident I am that they will finish in the top four.”
United have already beaten league-leaders Arsenal and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool this season at Old Trafford, but they came back to earth after losing 6-3 to City earlier this month.
Having won five of their last six league games, Scholes is now optimistic about where his former side could finish in the league table this season
Owen Hargreaves, who came to Scholes at BT Sport’s studio on Thursday, does not expect Erik ten Hag’s team to compete for the title and has outlined what he believes would be a successful season for the club.
“If they can finish in the top four and win a trophy, I think that would be a great debut season for Erik ten Hag,” added Hargreaves.
United face a pivotal period in their season in the coming weeks, with the team hosting Newcastle on Sunday only one point behind them in the table.
They then face Tottenham and Chelsea in three days, and those matches could give a clearer indication of where the team is headed.