‘It is always easy, especially for those who have stopped playing!’: Thiago Silva hits back at Paul Scholes after Man United legend claimed Cristiano Ronaldo would find it simple to play against him in Chelsea clash
- Paul Scholes claimed Cristiano Ronaldo would thrive against Thiago Silva
- Manchester United striker ended up coming off the bench against the Blues
- He made little impact in the game but United earned a hard-fought point
- Silva saw Scholes’ remarks and joked it is always easier for those in retirement
Thiago Silva has hit back at Paul Scholes after the pundit’s comment that Cristiano Ronaldo would find it easy against him in Manchester United‘s clash with Chelsea.
Ronaldo came off the bench in the 1-1 draw but his battle with Silva was touted as a crucial one and Scholes thought it should be simple for the striker.
After the game, a Chelsea fan account on Instagram wrote: ‘According to Paul Scholes, facing Thiago Silva would have been easy for Cristiano Ronaldo.’
And the 37-year-old replied: ‘It is always easy, especially for those who have stopped playing!!’
Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench in Manchester United’s draw against Chelsea last Sunday, and came face-to-face with veteran defender Thiago Silva
Paul Scholes had claimed that Ronaldo would find it easy against Thiago Silva
This is not the first time Scholes has been critical of Chelsea’s defence, despite them having a superb record under Thomas Tuchel.
The ex-United and England midfielder cast doubt over Silva’s age, saying on an episode of The Overlap: ‘I think [Antonio] Rudiger’s been really good but, other than that, you’ve got Thiago Silva who’s 36 or 37, Andreas Christensen’s a young player… I think in the middle of the pitch you’re alright. Jorginho and [N’Golo] Kante are really good players.
‘I’m just not sure that Chelsea score enough goals and that they’re defensively good enough,’ he added.
Silva has been outstanding for the Blues this season and they have qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League while also remaining top of the Premier League.
Silva played the full 90 minutes of the draw against United, a game in which Jorginho’s mistake led to the hosts conceding the opener.
The Italian then made amends by stroking home his penalty to level the scores and, despite Chelsea’s possession dominance, they failed to find a winner.
Ronaldo was unable to make an impact against Thiago when he came off the bench
Ronaldo was a surprise omission from interim boss Michael Carrick’s starting XI in his second and possibly final game in charge.
He insisted that the Portuguese superstar had taken the decision in his stride after they had spoken about it.
The 36-year-old was brought on to make an impact in the second half but was unable to help United claim three points.
It will be fascinating to see how new interim boss Ralf Rangnick uses the striker now he has officially been announced as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s replacement this season.
It appears that Rangnick will not be in the dugout for Thursday’s home clash with Arsenal, however, due to work-permit red tape and new Covid restrictions.
United are scrambling to have him in place against Crystal Palace three days later.
United are in eighth place, 12 points behind Chelsea and take on Arsenal at Old Trafford on Thursday evening.
Ronaldo found himself in the unusual situation of starting a game as a substitute
