Paul Scholes has Erik ten Hag’s theory on Antony’s gesture after beating Manchester United

Former Manchester United star Paul Scholes has had his say on Antony’s post-match chat with Mason Mount following Monday night’s 4-0 defeat by Crystal Palace.

United winger Antony was seen chatting with team-mate Mount following the match, covering his mouth and appearing to hold up three fingers – a gesture which led to speculation as to its meaning. The goalkeeper Andre Onana also appeared in the discussion.

Speaking to Optus Sport as a pundit, Scholes speculated on the nature of Antony’s apparent frustration. He admitted he was guessing as it was not possible to hear their conversation directly, but suggested the striker’s gesture could be expressing displeasure with manager Erik ten Hag’s tactics.

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He said: “He says something to Mason Mount that he’s obviously not happy about, Mason Mount seems the quietest of the three.

“What’s that going to do, I haven’t seen any of them communicate on the football pitch. It doesn’t look good. I don’t think it’s good for the manager.

“People talk and say things that (Antony) doesn’t agree with. When he holds up those three fingers, he can say we should have three in midfield, why don’t we have three there?

“I don’t know, we have no idea because we can’t read lips. But there’s obviously a problem there and obviously I don’t agree with something the manager is doing.”

Scholes was not the only former player to question Ten Hag after the strike. Former Liverpool and England defender Jamie Carragher called United “one of the worst-coached teams in the Premier League”.

“This is a fact. It’s not an opinion,” he said. “That’s a fact. The numbers tell you that when you see them defensively, at the bottom of the league… I struggled to see United winning tonight but I thought Palace would win one or two zero”.

“No Manchester United team should be beaten 4-0 by Crystal Palace. Manchester United’s Under-23 team, if they are at Manchester United, have been through their academy, been trained and taught to play, I still wouldn’t expect them to. to lose 4-0 I’ve never been a manager or a coach but I’ve been a player and I’ve been coached by top coaches and some of the things I see are just wrong.”