A lackluster loss away to Newcastle put an end to Manchester United’s brief Premier League comeback.

The last time United defeated a top-eight team away from home was almost two years ago, and this performance deserved a much worse result.

United legend Paul Scholes was ruthless in his assessment of the team post-match, particularly targeting one player.

Scholes started off by summing up United’s performance in one word which was “Rubbish”.

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He accused the players of a lack of effort, saying that there are “too many lazy players in this team”.

“Rubbish. They’re a poor football team at the moment, aren’t they? Those results they’ve had recently are misleading. Too many lazy players on the football team – you can’t get away with that.” – Legend Man Utd angry

Expanding upon the effort point, Scholes went in brutally on Marcus Rashford, who had a historically bad outing vs the Magpies.

Scholes questioned the United academy product’s work ethic and attitude, saying that he has been causing more harm to the team than benefit.

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Rashford refused to run back to defend when Anthony Gordon reached the final third

Rashford didn’t even want to chase Livramento after being overtaken

Rashford was subbed off on the hour mark and was visibly frustrated as he threw away his gloves in disgust after another listless display.

He regularly avoided tracking back, and was barely an inconvenience for Newcastle right-back Tino Livramento to get through on the odd occasion he found himself against Rashford.

Antony showed far more composure and effort after coming on, putting Rashford’s performance in an even more jarring contrast.

Scholes then questioned the manager’s instructions, wondering why Bruno Fernandes was all over the pitch instead of up the pitch where he was at his most effective.

Newcastle frequently used the wings to attack, but Ten Hag insisted on playing the same lineup at halftime. The game’s central theme up until that moment was Aaron Wan-Bissaka switching off, which is when winger Anthony Gordon finally scored the goal.

United’s performance has finally caught up to what they were getting away with during their winning run, and as a result, they are now behind Newcastle in the table.