‘Big problem’ - Paul Scholes points the finger of blame after Man Utd defeat to West Ham

Paul Scholes laid the blame firmly at the feet of Manchester United’s attackers after another dismal attacking display on Saturday, with the Red Devils losing 2-0 to West Ham United.

Erik ten Hag’s side managed just three shots on target at the London Stadium and had an expected goals of 0.73, despite having more possession and being the better side for the majority of the opening 70 minutes.

But they failed to kill off West Ham, with two goals inside seven minutes from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus ensuring the hosts grabbed all three points. It means United will spend Christmas in eighth place, and more alarmingly, they have now gone four games without a goal, the longest run since 1992.

Scholes said after the game that the lack of goals is his former side’s biggest problem at the moment. “United have got problems,” he opined on TNT Sports. “Goalscoring is a big problem, is that four games without a goal and without creating. 

“In the second half I can’t think of any save that the goalkeeper had to make. You usually go through seasons where one or two of your forwards are struggling a bit with confidence and can’t score goals, but it’s every single one of them. They have just got no goals from anywhere. 

“You talk about [Scott] McTominay, six goals as your leading scorer, a midfield player. The forward players have got to somehow step up and try and find a bit of confidence from somewhere and bring some threat to the team. There is no threat to the team as it’s going.”

United's offensive problems were highlighted at the London Stadium by Ten Hag's decision to replace Rasmus Hojlund before the hour mark. The Dane managed just 17 touches during the game, and his replacement Marcus Rashford also had little impact.

Between them, Hojlund, Rashford, Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Martial have scored just four league goals all campaign - three of which came in one match.

"It's a disappointing," Scholes said, when asked about United's attackers. "It sums it up, you've spent a lot of money on players and expect more. Marcus Rashford was brilliant last year but again can't find the net.

"The easiest thing in football to coach is defending and to get yourself in a nice shape. The hardest thing to do is to get your team to score goals, to teach them how to score goals. You can't get in their heads and make decisions at vital times for them. That has to come from them. In the past, that quality has been there, but at this moment in time it's seriously lacking."