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Manchester United legends Paul Scholes and Rio Ferdinand were heavily critical of Louis van Gaal's side following their premature exit from the Champions League. United were eliminated from Europe's top club competition, slipping instead into the Europa League, following a 3-2 defeat to Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena on Tuesday. Scholes and Ferdinand, working as pundits for BT Sport, did not hold back on their criticism of their former team afterwards. "United just look like an average team, really, and with an average team you get average performances," Scholes said. Asked if United were at a crisis point, he said: "Yeah, probably." Former United captain Ferdinand was equally cutting with his postmatch verdict, saying: "It's embarrassing. I was in a squad that went into the Europa League [in 2011] and it's an embarrassment. "You don't want to come out of your house, you don't want to walk around Manchester, you're looking at people looking at you and thinking, 'Ah, you're not good enough,' questioning you as an individual and as part of a team that didn't get through the group stages that you should have, on paper." Former United striker Michael Owen said Van Gaal's men are "quite far" from challenging for big trophies due to a lack of quality in the squad. He added: "You look at the players now -- are there any world-class players in there? David De Gea definitely, and then you could probably argue one or two more ... Wayne Rooney if he's on form, but he hasn't been on form for a while now. "So, no, they're quite a way off at the moment and that is the disappointing thing having spent so much money. You'd expect for that kind of money at least four or five world-class players in the squad." A patched-up United team, which ended the game with Nick Powell, Guillermo Varela and Cameron Borthwick-Jackson on the pitch, went ahead through Anthony Martial's 10th-minute goal but Wolfsburg were soon level thanks to Naldo's first-time volley. Julian Draxler's dribbling and craftsmanship then opened up the United defence, allowing Vierinha to tap in and make it 2-1. United had a goal disallowed for offside before the break but Josuha Guilavogui deflected Marouane Fellaini's header into his own goal to level the scores. Just two minutes later, though, Naldo sealed the win for Wolfsburg from close range. The Press Association reports that Van Gaal retains the support of the board. The Dutchman, who has 18 months left on his contract, insists he is taking United in the right direction.
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