Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick has stated that Harry Maguire will start tomorrow’s Premier League match against Southampton.
On Tuesday night, the England international struggled against Burnley. The center-back interfered with play from an offside position, preventing Raphael Varane from scoring the opening goal.
Wout Weghorst turned him inside out in the second half before Jay Rodriguez went behind him to equalize. Some supporters have called for him to be dropped, but this is unlikely to happen.
Rangnick claimed in today’s news conference that the 28-year-old had an excellent game against West Ham United and that the Clarets goal was the fault of the entire defense.
The German strategist went on to say that the club captain had only recently returned from injury and that he expected him to play at the same level against the Hammers tomorrow.
“I think he had a terrific game vs West Ham,” he told the Manchester Evening News. We may have done a better job defending transitional moments against Burnley, but the rest of our defense was poor.”
“We should not have let the counter-attack happen.” Harry was injured, returned, and had a very strong game against West Ham, and I’m confident he can do the same tomorrow.”
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In our opinion:
By his lofty standards, Maguire has had an ordinary season, and there have been legitimate questions about his placement in a lot of Premier League games.
It was expected that he would be fired following his bad performance at Turf Moot, but Rangnick has surprisingly encouraged him to perform well against Southampton.
The game should be a significant test for Maguire, as the Saints are coming off a fantastic 3-2 comeback win away from home against Tottenham Hotspur.
In the second half, the club took advantage of superb crosses into the box, particularly from James Ward-Prowse. Spurs paid a high price for their poor positioning.
United will need to reduce crosses from both flanks, but they will also need more confidence in central defense. Maguire has received support, but Rangnick may not be patient for long.
Victor Lindelof was in good shape before to his absence for personal reasons, which was followed by illness. The Sweden international will be attempting to make a comeback.
