Paul Scholes blasts Erik ten Hag's bizarre Man Utd decision - 'I'm confused'

Paul Scholes has slammed manager after he started defender Noussair Mazraoui in the No.10 role against .

Captain typically plays there, but he was suspended for the match after getting sent off in earlier this month. However, instead of opting for a more like-for-like replacement such as , Ten Hag decided to get creative by picking Mazraoui.

The full-back has played in midfield before and Ten Hag is confident Mazraoui is "capable of doing this job". Explaining his decision to , Ten Hag said: "We have some injuries and a suspension with Bruno, so we had to be creative.

"Also, we had some players who have a short turnaround to , so we've made some changes there and a different set-up, but not so much different because we want to keep consistency.

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"Eriksen there, Mainoo as the No.6 and we bring Mazraoui into the No.10 position. I know him from before, sometimes played him there for Ajax, also playing him as a full-back, and also in our system he's playing in the half spaces, so he's capable of doing this job.

"He can do good pressing. We can see during the game what is needed, so we maybe go with him in another position and maybe if needed, he can play a more offensive position and it's also possible to bring Casemiro in."

However, was left utterly baffled by Ten Hag's decision and his explanation, questioning why he did not simply pick Eriksen as his No.10. Scholes said: "I'm confused by it. I even think his explanation of it was confusing...

"I think Eriksen is perfect for that. I hope Mazraoui understands better what he has to do than I do. I found it difficult to understand [Ten Hag's explanation]. I don't see him as a No.10."

Ten Hag also handed a rare start to Joshua Zirkzee, asking him to lead the line ahead of Rasmus Hojlund who only recently returned from a hamstring injury. "Rasmus Hojlund is returning from a big injury and we have to build up his fitness," Ten Hag added.

"He's not up to 100 per cent speed but he will come. We want to avoid him getting injured again, so we spare him today, and Sunday [West Ham] is another big game. The atmosphere will be very loud, for sure, it will be hostile, for sure, but we know the style of the manager, playing counter-attacks and he can do that very good."

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