Scholes' eerie Man United prediction resurfaces in worrying Carrick omen

He said the first half "really worried" him, slamming the team as "all over the place" and warning that better opposition would tear them apart. A breathless comeback against Italian opposition to buy an under-pressure manager some breathing room - it sounds like the definitive post-match autopsy of Tuesday's thriller against Roma.

Except Scholes wasn't talking about Michael Carrick's side or about Tuesday night's game. He was speaking in October 2021, moments after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's United mounted an identical rescue mission against Atalanta.

Back then, Scholes refused to get swept up in the delirium. While Old Trafford celebrated the fighting spirit, he saw disaster lurking around the corner: "Go on do that on Sunday against Liverpool and see what happens." Four days later, Liverpool arrived and handed United a historic, soul-crushing 5-0 thrashing.

The parallels this week are almost chilling. Gian Piero Gasperini was once again the visiting manager left stunned by a 3-2 collapse, the cracks in midfield were once again masked by sheer emotional momentum, and the intoxicating high of a European comeback threatens to blind United to the exact same trap Solskjaer walked into.

Back then, while everyone else celebrated the euphoric result, Scholes sat in the BT Sport studio and flatly refused to join the party.

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"The first half really worried me," the former midfielder said. "People will say I'm just miserable but I looked at that game thinking about Liverpool on Sunday... because I thought in that first half United were all over the place.

"They looked disjointed. They had two midfield players playing on their own, and if you do that against Manchester City or Liverpool it'll be three or four nil, you'll be out of the game, you're not coming back.

"It's great watching all the smiles on the faces, all the shooting, all the attacking, all the goals, all the crosses, it's brilliant. But that first half has just stuck with me. They've come back from 2-0 down, great fighting spirit. But they've conceded so many chances. When you play against quality players, there's no way you're winning that game.

"Will he play that way on Sunday against Liverpool? It was [supposedly] that brilliant, it was that good, everyone's smiling, everyone's happy. Go on do that on Sunday against Liverpool and see what happens."

Solskjaer didn't listen. He picked the exact same starting XI against Liverpool four days later, and lo and behold, Scholes' prophecy came to pass: a 5-0 humiliation at Old Trafford that marked the beginning of the end for the Norwegian.

Heading into Tuesday's clash with Roma, Carrick was a manager under siege. United were winless in nine games and reeling from three consecutive defeats. The atmosphere turned grim inside 17 minutes when Matias Soule opened the scoring and Donyell Malen doubled Roma's lead from the penalty spot.

But, in typical chaotic European fashion, United mounted an improbable resurrection. Bruno Fernandes pulled one back from the spot before a late brace from Matheus Cunha flipped the match on its head, sending Old Trafford into raptures.

Now, history stands on the touchline offering Carrick a sobering reality check. With a daunting fixture against Aston Villa coming this weekend, United can ill afford to mistake sheer adrenaline for progress. Scholes correctly warned five years ago that relying on chaotic comebacks is unsustainable against quality opposition.

Carrick's job may feel slightly safer today than it did at the weekend, but unless he heeds the ghost of 2021, history will have no qualms about repeating itself.

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