Maguire, along with most of his Manchester United teammates, put in a sensational performance against Brentford recently. The Red Devils lost 4-0 and that left Ten Hag angry. He made four changes for the home clash with Liverpool. Tyrell Malacia, Raphael Varane, Scott McTominay and Anthony Elanga all came into the squad. This saw Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo drop to the bench, with Bruno Fernandes named United captain in Maguire’s absence. Manchester United were brilliant at Old Trafford and surprised some of their own fans by beating Liverpool 2-1. Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford were on the scoresheet for the hosts. Mo Salah pulled one back for Liverpool with about 10 minutes remaining. However, the Merseyside club failed to equalize and so United took all three points. United looked hungry and fresh in the match as they flew out of the blocks. Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville couldn’t believe what they were seeing as United caused their opponents all sorts of problems in the first 30 minutes. After the game, Neville said he was “amazed” by United’s “absolutely brilliant” display against last season’s FA Cup winners. The Sun reveals how the win came about and what Maguire’s future looks like as United captain.
Ten Hag punishes his United players
They claim Ten Hag made his United players run 13.8km the day after the defeat at Bradford, with their day off cancelled. This is how Brentford beat United in the game. The players were initially angry at the punishment, though they respected Ten Haag after realizing he was also running the 13.8km. Ten Hag also had a chat with Maguire. He told the Englishman that he is no longer first choice at centre-back. Varane and Lisandro Martinez did well against Liverpool and look set to play together more often. Fernandes will take the armband from now on if Maguire is not in the team. This comes after the Portuguese “bloomed” into the leading role against Liverpool. Although Maguire remains the team’s captain, he is unlikely to pick up the armband when he comes off the bench as long as Fernandes continues to perform well.
Manager to consider Maguire’s future as captain
With that in mind, Ten Hag could end up doing a complete U-turn on the captaincy and taking it away from Maguire. He backed the 29-year-old earlier in the summer, but things have changed since then. Varane and Martinez are likely to play together when United travel to Southampton on Saturday. Saints will likely play Che Adams up front and he shouldn’t be a huge aerial threat for Martinez compared to other Premier League strikers. It looks like a long road back to the starting line-up for Maguire. While he will continue to play regularly this season, it is in some of the biggest games he could miss. Varane and Martinez doing well will show Ten Hag why he should consider bringing in a new captain. After all, what good is a club captain if he is not on the pitch for the most crucial matches. Ten Haag’s selection decision is also a concern for Maguire when it comes to his place in England. The World Cup is fast approaching and Maguire could be dropped by Gareth Southgate if his troublesome campaign continues. Meanwhile, a United player has bid farewell to his team-mates ahead of his Ligue 1 move.
