Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has strongly criticised Bruno Fernandes following the club’s disappointing opening-day defeat to Hull, arguing that the captain should have been more careful with his post-match comments. Scholes also questioned an unusual moment involving Harry Maguire during Hull’s first goal and called on the experienced defender to explain what happened.

United began their Premier League campaign with a frustrating 2-0 defeat away to newly promoted Hull at the MKM Stadium on Saturday. Both of Hull’s goals came from set pieces during the first half, leaving United with a difficult start against a side many observers had expected to struggle in their first season back in the top flight.

Following the match, Fernandes spoke openly about United’s performance and appeared frustrated by issues that he felt had been repeated from the previous campaign. The Portuguese midfielder suggested that his team had once again made the same mistakes they had been making in away matches last season.

Fernandes also criticised United’s approach during the opening stages of the match. He pointed out that Hull had been allowed to dominate possession and claimed that United needed to be more aggressive when pressing their opponents. He also emphasised the importance of improving their defending from set pieces, particularly against teams that rely on such situations to create opportunities.

However, Scholes was unimpressed by the United captain’s comments. Speaking on his podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Football, the former midfielder questioned exactly what Fernandes meant when he referred to the team making the same mistakes as last season.

Scholes suggested that Fernandes should have focused more on his own performance before publicly criticising the team. According to the former United star, the captain had not produced his best display against Hull either, making his comments particularly questionable.

The criticism did not stop with Fernandes. Scholes and former Manchester United striker Dion Dublin also discussed Luke Shaw’s post-match assessment, with both former players believing that the defender’s comments could be interpreted as criticism of manager Michael Carrick and his coaching staff.

Shaw had suggested that United were not sufficiently prepared for the match and admitted that the squad could have done more collectively to prepare for Hull’s strengths. He specifically mentioned set pieces, arguing that the team knew how dangerous Hull could be in those situations and should have been better equipped to deal with them.

Scholes viewed those comments as a serious issue. He argued that when a player publicly says the team was not properly prepared, the statement can be interpreted as a criticism of the manager and his staff. The former England international pointed out that such comments would have been particularly difficult to imagine during the era of Sir Alex Ferguson.

According to Scholes, players in his generation would have faced immediate consequences if they had suggested publicly that the team had not been adequately prepared. He recalled the level of authority Ferguson commanded and suggested that a player making similar remarks during that period would likely have been confronted by the manager in front of the squad.

Dublin shared Scholes’ concerns but focused more on the responsibility of senior players when speaking to the media. He argued that if the captain is required to speak after a disappointing match, he should choose his words carefully and avoid giving journalists or critics additional material to use against the team.

For Dublin, United’s poor performance already provided enough criticism without players publicly highlighting internal problems. He suggested that the priority should be maintaining unity and avoiding comments that could create further controversy around the manager or coaching staff.

The discussion also turned towards Carrick’s transition from interim manager to permanent head coach. Dublin suggested that one of Carrick’s biggest challenges would be changing his relationships with players now that he has full managerial authority.

Carrick previously worked closely with many of the players as a colleague and coach, meaning he already has personal relationships with members of the squad. Dublin believes that becoming the permanent manager requires him to establish a clearer distance between himself and the players.

The former striker explained that Carrick can no longer operate purely as a friend or colleague. Instead, he must make it clear that he is now the manager and that the players are expected to follow his instructions. Dublin acknowledged that this transition could be difficult for someone with Carrick’s personality, particularly because he is known for being approachable and friendly.

The former United midfielder also criticised another incident from the match involving Harry Maguire. The experienced centre-back appeared to be marking his own teammate, Noussair Mazraoui, during the corner that resulted in Hull’s opening goal.

In footage of the incident, Maguire can be seen with his arms around Mazraoui shortly before Semi Ajayi, the player Maguire was seemingly supposed to be marking, attacked the ball and headed it into the net.

The bizarre positioning immediately attracted attention, and Scholes admitted that he struggled to understand exactly what Maguire was trying to do. He suggested that the defender may simply have lost track of his position while concentrating on the flight of the ball.

Scholes speculated that Maguire could have been focused so heavily on the ball that he failed to recognise where his assigned opponent was. Feeling another player in front of him, he may instinctively have tried to engage physically with that player, resulting in what looked almost like an accidental hug with Mazraoui.

Nevertheless, Scholes admitted that the incident did not look good from a defensive perspective. Given that the player Maguire should have been tracking was then able to score, the moment became an obvious example of United’s poor organisation from set pieces.

Scholes therefore challenged Maguire to provide an explanation for the unusual incident. For a player with significant experience at the highest level, such a basic defensive misunderstanding was particularly difficult to overlook.

United will now have an opportunity to respond when they return to Premier League action on Sunday against another newly promoted team, Ipswich Town, at Old Trafford. After suffering an early defeat to Hull, Michael Carrick and his players will be under pressure to produce a much-improved performance.

The match will also provide Carrick with a chance to address some of the concerns raised after the opening weekend, particularly United’s defending from set pieces, their pressing intensity and their preparation for opponents.

For Fernandes, Shaw and the rest of the senior players, the defeat has also highlighted the importance of managing their public comments. While honest assessments can demonstrate accountability, Scholes and Dublin believe that criticism of preparation and tactics should be handled carefully, particularly when directed towards the manager or coaching staff.

With expectations surrounding Manchester United remaining extremely high, Carrick will need to establish his authority quickly. The defeat to Hull has already created questions about the team’s readiness, organisation and leadership, and another disappointing result could intensify the scrutiny surrounding the club.

The coming weeks will therefore be crucial for Carrick and his squad as they attempt to recover from a poor start and demonstrate that the problems exposed against Hull were an isolated setback rather than a continuation of the weaknesses that affected United last season.