Thiago Silva hits back at Paul Scholes over Cristiano Ronaldo statement

Veteran Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has hit back at Paul Scholes after the former Manchester United star claimed Cristiano Ronaldo would find it easy to play against him.

The Blues were hosting United at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Sunday evening, with Thomas Tuchel's side heading into the clash as the leaders of the top-flight.

But though they would have expected to secure a win against the underperforming Red Devils and extend their advantage at the top of the league, that was not to be for Tuchel's men.

The gameplan set in place by caretaker boss Michael Carrick saw United sit deep for much of the first-half before hitting Chelsea on the counter-attack to go ahead through Jadon Sancho.

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Chelsea were able to get back into the game when Aaron Wan-Bissaka brought down Silva in the area with a clumsy challenge.

Jorginho stepped up to score the spot-kick, atoning for his error which led directly to Sancho opening the scoring.

Despite putting United under intense pressure, Chelsea were unable to find a winner, leaving them with a slender one-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

A key part of their success this season has been the presence of Silva in the back three, with the Brazilian making 10 league appearances so far this term.

He has helped Chelsea to keep five clean sheets and concede just five goals in those games, with the Blues currently holding the title of having the best defensive record in the league.

Silva was once again selected to start against United on Sunday, with Ronaldo surprisingly left on the bench by Carrick.

Many questioned that decision ahead of the game, including Scholes who told Premier League productions that it would have been easy for Ronaldo to play against the Chelsea star.

But Scholes was left with egg on his face as Silva put in another composed defensive performance at Stamford Bridge.

He blocked one shot, won five of his defensive duels, made three clearances and made eight recoveries as he played all 90 minutes of the draw.

Ronaldo meanwhile was brought on after 64 minutes, with Chelsea scoring their equaliser soon after he replaced Marcus Rashford.

It was an evening the superstar will want to forget quickly, having failed to have a shot of any description and losing all six of his duels.

And Silva has now fired back at Scholes, having been made aware of his pre-match comments by a Chelsea fan page on Instagram.

"According to Paul Scholes, facing Thiago Silva would have been easy for Cristiano Ronaldo," the fan page wrote as a caption showing Ronaldo getting booked following an interaction with Silva.

Silva replied to that post by mocking the fact that Scholes is now retired from professional football.

"It is always easy, especially for those who have stopped playing!!," Silva wrote along with three laughing emojis.