He said: “It was a difficult afternoon, but they have to realise what they are playing against. We know United have work to do. The centre of the pitch is a big problem. I thought Liverpool were miles ahead of them.
“The biggest thing I noticed from being pitchside and looking at the players is Liverpool looked fitter and more athletic. [Kobbie] Mainoo took time to get going; Bruno Fernandes looked sluggish; [Joshua] Zirkzee needs game time as he hasn’t played.
“That was the big thing that struck me. We’re only early in the season but they are things that worry me – are the team working hard enough behind the scenes to be as fit as they should be? They just didn’t look fit enough.”
Scholes added: “If you have a centre-half who can’t get through a game, that’s a concern. That tells me you’re not fit enough straight from the off. Back fours should always stay on early. You may bring a full-back off here and there but two centre-halves should be there for the full game and it’s been the first three games that they’ve changed it [during the game]. How can a centre-back not be fit enough?
“You have the excuse of the Euros and you can say it takes a bit of time to get going but Liverpool had players there as well. Other teams had players there – you don’t see them struggling.”
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