March 4th 2024.
During the Manchester United and Manchester City derby, there was one player who struggled to keep up with City's young talent, Phil Foden. Paul Scholes, a United legend, was not pleased with the defending of Casemiro, the Brazilian midfielder. Scholes described Casemiro's defending as "criminal" during City's second goal, where Foden and Julian Alvarez linked up for a beautiful one-two play.
United's hopes were high after Marcus Rashford's stunning goal in the 8th minute, but City quickly equalized with Foden's own screamer into the top corner. Then, in the 80th minute, Foden doubled his tally with an impressive one-two with Alvarez, leaving United's defense in shambles. The game was sealed with an injury-time goal from Erling Haaland, securing a 3-1 win for City.
Although Casemiro had a solid performance throughout the match, his mistake during City's second goal did not go unnoticed by Scholes. As a seasoned player, Scholes expected Casemiro to do better in that situation. He commented, "Look at Casemiro during that one-two. In a defensive position, the holding midfield role, that is criminal." Scholes believed that Casemiro's experience should have prevented him from being caught off guard by Foden and Alvarez's quick play.
As the game progressed, United struggled to maintain their one-goal lead away from home. City's quality eventually broke them down, and even though United fought until the end, they were unable to equalize. Scholes admitted that City's added time of eight minutes was more likely to result in another goal for them, rather than United equalizing.
Scholes also pointed out the lack of quality in United's possession compared to City's. He stated, "Once United went behind, they didn't really have the answers. They don't have the quality of Manchester City, they can't keep a spell of possession for three or four minutes." Scholes believed that United's performance was acceptable when they were tied or ahead, but as soon as City took the lead, it became evident that United lacked the same level of control and possession.
In the end, United's defeat was a result of City's superior quality and control of the game. Scholes acknowledged that it was difficult for United to match City's possession and stamp their authority on the game. He also noted that United's midfield did well defensively at times, but it was challenging to play against a team like City, who dominate possession.
Overall, United's performance in the derby was not up to par, and Scholes believed that their efforts were more focused on preventing a bigger loss rather than trying to equalize. City's victory was well-deserved, and United would have to regroup and improve if they wanted to compete with top teams like City in the future.
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