Paul Scholes saw signs of fatigue in the Manchester United team (Picture: BT Sport)
Paul Scholes saw signs of fatigue in Manchester United’s Europa League victory over Real Betis and believes Casemiro and Luke Shaw ‘need a rest’.
United responded to their humiliating 7-0 defeat to Liverpool with an impressive 4-1 win over Spanish side Betis in the first leg of the last-16 tie.
Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst were all on the scoresheet as United thumped Real Betis to put one foot in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Erik ten Hag may now opt to rotate his squad for the second leg in Spain next week and Scholes believes at least two players would benefit from a rest.
‘I don’t think Ten Hag likes making lots of changes,’ said Scholes after the same United team that were thrashed by Liverpool beat Real Betis.
‘He likes players having rhythm, but with the schedule and the amount of games they’ve played, some of these players need a rest now.
‘I thought Shaw looked like he needed a rest tonight, Casemiro looks like he needs a rest.
Scholes thought Luke Shaw looked leggy against Sporting Lisbon (Picture: Getty)
‘They can give a few young players a taste of European football [next week] and hopefully that will stand them in good stead for the future.’
Manchester United had enjoyed an impressive revival under Ten Hag before the Liverpool capitulation, climbing to third in the Premier League and winning the EFL Cup.
Rashford says the Real Betis win was a ‘step back in the right direction’, telling BT Sport: ‘We have to build on it now again but we can’t put too much emphasis on Sunday because it is gone and we can’t change it so we have to keep moving forward.
‘It’s always important to win the next fixture after a loss it is the only way to bounce back and continue to the momentum we had before the game.’
Ten Hag, meanwhile, said: ‘I think we played a very good game in both halves.
‘We scored some good goals, we gave the fans something to support and they gave it back so we are very grateful.
‘It was a great attitude, we were good on the ball, made good switches and runs in behind and created a lot of chances.
‘It is always good to see how the team reacts after a set-back. This is not the first time this season we can reset and bounce back. This team has character, so big compliment to the team.’
Manchester United, sitting third in the Premier League, return to action on Sunday against Southampton.
‘Some of these players need a rest now.’