Paul Scholes was impressed with Facundo Pellistri’s performance as he made his first Manchester United start in the win over Real Betis on Thursday evening.
Facundo Pellistri finally made his first Man Utd start against Real Betis (Photo: Getty)© Provided by Metro
United sealed their place in the Europa League quarter-finals thanks to Marcus Rashford’s long-range stunner giving them a 1-0 victory at Betis and a 5-1 victory on aggregate.
Despite their significant advantage from the first let, Erik ten Hag named a pretty strong starting XI but was still confident enough to hand 21-year-old Pellistri his first start for the club.
The winger moved to Old Trafford in 2020 but only made his first-team debut, as a late sub, back in January and he since gone on to make several more impressive cameos.
And though the game against Betis was mostly a dead rubber for United, Pellistri still put on a good show and came close to opening the scoring late in the first-half but alas his shot only hit the post.
Nevertheless, Scholes liked what he saw and has backed the Uruguay international to play an important role for the Red Devils with several of their other forwards struggling for form and fitness.
‘He is going to be an asset. With [Alejandro] Garnacho being out, Antony is ill as well, he will be a real asset,’ the United legend told BT Sport.
Paul Scholes described Pellistri as a ‘real threat’ for Man Utd (Photo: Getty)© Provided by Metro
‘Not just from the bench but starting games too. It was a tough European away game, especially away in Spain. So for his first full start, I thought he did very well.
‘He has not played a lot of football, but I thought he was quite lively going down the outside. He put a couple of crosses in early on that he possibly over-hit, but the whole team was like that, to be fair. But I thought he was a real threat.
‘He was the one looking to create and the one looking to be dangerous. He is very direct and I don’t think we will see any fancy stuff from him.
‘He will be direct, go towards goal, try and cross the balls for forwards in the box and get shots at goal. I thought, overall, he was just alright.’
Pellistri will be hoping to get his next start for United when they host Fulham in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
And the former Red Devils midfielder, 48, was quick to criticise the Old Trafford outfit saying they have ‘only got to keep the ball for 90 minutes’.
‘Ten Hag will be very disappointed with the performance. For some reason they’ve got into a fight with Betis,’ Scholes told BT Sport.
‘Just show some composure. You’ve only got to keep the ball for 90 minutes.’
Paul Scholes criticised Manchester United’s ‘very disappointing performance’ in the first half
The hosts began brightly before they eventually fell to a 1-0 defeat to Man United on the night © Provided by Daily Mail
Owen Hargreaves added: ‘They’ve been fortunate that they aren’t a goal down. Why is there is so much space? They’ve invited so much pressure.’
United went on to win the second leg 1-0 thanks to Marcus Rashford’s superb strike. They progressed to the quarter-finals 5-1 on aggregate.
Scholes had earlier urged United to sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan because he ‘would suit Erik ten Hag’s style of play’ better than Napoli star Victor Osimhen.
Scholes said: ‘I don’t think Kane will leave Tottenham. I think it’s difficult to deal with Dan Levy.
‘I think Osimhen is a great player, but I think he is more suited for Chelsea. I think Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan would suit Ten Hag’s style of play.’
Argentina forward Martinez struck a formidable partnership with Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku under Antonio Conte during Inter’s 2020-21 title-winning campaign in Italy.
Last year, the 25-year-old was linked with Chelsea and Tottenham – where he would have joined up with former boss Conte.
Osimhen has cemented his status as one of the world’s most potent strikers at Napoli this season and is the top scorer in Serie A.
He has scored 23 goals in 29 appearances across all competitions and is expected to be in high demand once the summer transfer window opens.
Owen Hargreaves said United were fortunate not to be a goal down at half-time at Real Betis
It comes after Scholes urged United to sign Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan© Provided by Daily Mail
