Paul Scholes says Manchester United need to bounce back from a “terrible position” in the Champions League.
The former Manchester United midfielder spoke to TNT Sports ahead of Tuesday night’s clash against FC Copenhagen at Old Trafford.
United can’t afford any more slip-ups after losing their first two matches in the group phase against Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.
On paper at least, United should be taking advantage of our double-header with Copenhagen – starting tonight – and Scholes thinks 10 points are needed from the next four games to secure qualification.
“This week is vitally important,” Scholes said. “They’re in a terrible position after losing to Galatasaray, that first home game was a complete disaster.”
Every game has been a struggle for United this season, including the 2-1 win over Sheffield United on Saturday, and Scholes isn’t convinced by the team’s form despite winning the previous two matches.
Scholes added: “I’m not sure how much confidence the two wins in the Premier League will give them.
“One of them was scraped through [against Brentford], and again the performance wasn’t great again on Saturday night against a team you would expect to be relegated [Sheffield United].
“They’re just not firing at the minute. I’m not sure what the issue is, there seems to be a lot of changes all the time, they can’t seem to get a consistent team, whether it’s through injuries or suspensions, whatever it may be.
“But they need to win this game, there’s no doubt about it, and they probably need to win three of the next four games in the Champions League.”
Erik ten Hag and his players won’t want to think about dropping out of the Champions League, but it could become a real possibility if the Reds drop points against their Danish opponents. Scholes says it would be disappointing to not progress from such an easy group.
“It would be a major disappointment if they don’t get through this group,” the former United midfielder concluded.
“It should’ve been a relatively easy group to get out of and they have made it big trouble.
“The first game against Bayern Munich, you wouldn’t expect them to get much out of that, a draw possibly, and it wasn’t good enough on the night.
“The disappointment was the Galatasaray game. It will be a major disappointment to go back into the Europa League or even worse, not qualify at all.
“This is Manchester United. Look, you’re not looking at a team now thinking they can go on and win the Champions League, but it’s a team that should at least be getting out of the group.”
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