Manchester United legend Paul Scholes believes the hamstring injury sustained by Raphael Varane against Atalanta last night could seriously jeopardise the Red Devils’ chances against Manchester City on Saturday.
Varane went off with United already 1-0 down yesterday evening but Scholes claims that their organisation at the back became a mess after the Frenchman’s withdrawal:
“As soon as Varane went off, it went all over the place, really shaky. The quality in the middle of the pitch wasn’t great, giving the ball away. Maguire just doesn’t look right, and I don’t want to say it again, but with no Varane on Saturday it has to be a worry.”
“If you’re Pep [Guardiola] you would think you have a good chance to win. City think that anyway, at any point it will be a difficult game. But with no Varane it is going to be more difficult.”
Scholes was spot on with his prediction before the 5-0 hammering United suffered at the hands of Liverpool so his comments about the Manchester derby will be a major concern.
While three at the back did manage to steady the ship against Tottenham last weekend, the switch back to a four-man defence after Varane’s injury versus Atalanta exposed the same issues that have been plaguing Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side all campaign.
City haven’t exactly been firing on all cylinders this season but they have still scored 20 goals in 10 league matches and manager Pep Guardiola will be looking to expose United’s obvious defensive frailties.
