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 over two years ago, and this performance deserved a much worse result.

Paul Scholes, a legend at United, was brutal in his post-match evaluation of the team, singling out one man in particular.

Scholes began by describing United’s performance in one word: “Rubbish.”Saying that there are “too many lazy players in this team,” he charged the players of not putting in enough effort.

To further emphasize the effort issue, Scholes took a tough approach to Marcus Rashford, who had a poor performance against the Magpies in the past.

Scholes said that the United youth product has been hurting the team more than helping it, casting doubt on his work ethic and attitude.After yet another boring performance, Rashford was substituted on at the hour, and he was clearly irritated as he flung away his gloves in anger.

He was rarely a hindrance to Newcastle right-back Tino Livramento when he went up against Rashford because he consistently avoided trailing back.

After entering the game, Antony shown much more poise and effort, which created an even more striking contrast with Rashford’s performance.

Then, asking why Bruno Fernandes was all over the pitch rather than up the pitch, where he was most productive, Scholes questioned the manager’s instructions.

Newcastle frequently used the wings to attack, but Ten Hag insisted on playing the same lineup at halftime. The game’s central motif 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 throughout their winning run, and as a result, they are currently behind Newcastle in the table.