Erik ten Hag defends playing Harry Maguire in attack for Manchester United against Real Sociedad
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has defended his decision to play Harry Maguire in the attack against Real Sociedad. The centre-back came on in the 82nd minute in place of goalscorer Alejandro Garnacho.
The Argentine scored his first senior goal for the Red Devils in the 17th minute against the Spanish outfit. And the 18-year-old was threatening throughout the match.
The Old Trafford side dominated the first half at the Reale Arena. We had control of the game and created some good chances. However, the second half was much more erratic and messy from the team.
The La Liga club beat the Manchester-based club 1-0 in the reverse fixture. Thus, United needed to beat La Real by a two-goal difference to finish top of the group.
Ten Hag made a host of changes to the team at almost the hour mark. Scott McTominay came on for Victor Lindelof and Marcus Rashford replaced Donny van de Beek.
And towards the end, Maguire and Christian Eriksen also came on in search of that second goal. The centre-back played in a peculiar position up front. And speaking to the media via Metro after the 1-0 victory on Thursday (3 November), the Dutch manager gave the reasons for the defender’s attacking role.
“It’s clear, we needed the goal, then we went more opportune. With Cristiano and Harry Maguire, you have two good headers and we tried to go more direct into the box and I think we did several times, quicker to get into the box for the opponent.”
With Cristiano Ronaldo and Maguire up front, we had the opportunity to put the ball in the box and maybe create a chance. Both the Portuguese and England internationals are known for their heading abilities. Thus, it made sense in such a situation.
Unfortunately, the Red Devils failed to find the back of the net once. Therefore, we finished behind La Real in Group E on goal difference.
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Finishing first would have given the Old Trafford side direct qualification to the round of 16. Instead, now we have to face a team dropping from the Champions League in a two-legged play-off first. It remains to be seen who United get, with the likes of Barcelona and Juventus in the mix.
