Paul Scholes has defended Bruno Fernandes after the stand-in Manchester United captain was called "embarrassing" by Gary Neville.
Fernandes was slammed by Neville for his woeful performance on Sunday, as United were thumped 7-0 by bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield. Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all scored braces, while substitute Roberto Firmino also found the net.
Yet Scholes believes Fernandes deserves a break after being played out of position. The Portuguese star did not play in his favoured No.10 role due to the presence of Wout Weghorst, with Scholes claiming the Dutchman is not good enough to play for United.
"I actually feel sorry for him [Fernandes] when he’s played," said Scholes. "He’s been pushed out to many positions to do a job for the team. He was on the left today, he’s been on the right, he’s played through the middle, he has been a little bit all over the place.
"You can’t say any of the players performed the way they should have done, but I thought he was especially poor today. It wasn’t his greatest afternoon."
United conceded six goals during the second half to complete a spectacular collapse. It is the joint-biggest defeat in the club's history, with their last 7-0 loss coming in 1931.
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Neville was furious with Fernandes' display. The ex-captain told Sky Sports at full-time, "The second half has been an absolute disgrace. It was a shambles, epitomised by captain Bruno Fernandes, who has been embarrassing at times. They've not understood the dangers of this fixture. The Manchester United players have been eaten alive out there."
Neville was angered by Fernandes' body language. "I have had enough of Fernandes throwing his arms around, whinging at everyone, holding his face when touched," he said on commentary. "That wasn't a captain's performance from a Manchester United player."
Yet as Scholes protests, Weghorst also failed to cover himself in glory. The Netherlands international joined United on loan from Burnley in January to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, who left Old Trafford by mutual consent during the World Cup in Qatar.
Weghorst has started every game since his temporary switch, but his record of one goal in 14 appearances is not good enough for United. Ten Hag is expected to sign a new striker in the summer and allow Weghorst to return to Turf Moor.
"Weghorst is in the team to be a defender, really," added Red Devils icon Scholes, who spoke to Premier League Productions at full-time. "You’re talking about a Manchester United No.10 or a centre-forward, he’s in the team to be defensive.
"He’s the one who runs about and rats about and everybody likes playing with him because he does that. But quality-wise as well you’ve got to have a certain level of quality to play for Man Utd... it’s not there."
