Paul Scholes believes that Manchester United players were privately questioning Erik ten Hag’s tactics in the post-match exchange involving Andre Onana, Mason Mount, and Antony at Crystal Palace.
After a woeful display that resulted in a 4-0 win for Palace on Monday night, the pressure on ten Hag has increased.
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Cameras captured Mount and Antony, both of whom were substituted in the second half, engaged in a deep discussion after the full-time whistle.
They covered their mouths with their hands as they left the pitch, with goalkeeper Onana joining them. During this exchange, Antony was seen gesturing with three fingers to Mount, which infuriated Jamie Carragher.
Carragher speculated that the Brazilian might have been discussing “one of the other players, the set-up, or the manager.”
Former United star Scholes was also unimpressed by these post-match scenes, stating that the discussion involving the three players “did not look good.”
Although Scholes was unsure of the exact topic of conversation, he suggested that Antony’s gesture could indicate a problem with how United had lined up in midfield, with Kobbie Mainoo and Christian Eriksen constantly outnumbered and outfought.
‘He has three fingers up there, I don’t know what that means. He is saying something to Mason Mount he is obviously not happy with. Mason Mount seems the quietest out of the three of them,’ Scholes told Optus Sports while viewing the incident back.
‘What’s that going to do, I didn’t see any of them communicating on the football pitch. That doesn’t look good. I don’t think that’s good for the manager.
‘People are obviously talking and saying things he [Antony] doesn’t agree with. When he’s putting those three fingers up, maybe he’s saying we should be having three in midfield, why don’t we have three there?
‘I don’t know, we have no idea because we can’t lip read. But there is obviously a problem there and they obviously disagree with something the manager is doing.’
Scholes added: ‘They [the players] were given instructions and they didn’t follow them. I think that was mainly the midfield two. What can you do about that? When your players aren’t following your instructions you have to take responsibility.
‘It’s a worry he is asking players to do something and they are not doing it.’
