By Angus Barnes
Gary Neville was quick to defend Harry Maguire after the Manchester United captain made a mistake in the Europa League quarter-final clash with Sevilla. Maguire started for the Reds in the second leg against the LaLiga team, but was ruled out eight minutes into the game when the locals took the lead against those led by Erik ten Hag. The England international lost the ball on the edge of his own box after receiving the ball from David de Gea.
The United goalkeeper passed the ball to his captain at a request from Maguire, but was blocked by three Sevilla attackers and dispossessed by Erik Lamela, who punctured the ball. The former Tottenham man set up Youssef En-Nesyri, who fired past the defenseless De Gea.
He gave Sevilla a 3-2 aggregate lead at the start of the second leg, as the Spanish side recovered from trailing two goals in last week's first leg at Old Trafford. While Maguire was criticized for the goal, former defender Neville blamed De Gea, rather than the England centre-back.
We saw how hostile that crowd was before the game, they have been so aggressive and so against Manchester United that you have to give them credit, but like I said in the warm up we were praising how impressive and how hostile the crowd was so when the The players see that they have to go to that locker room and think carefully, I have to be ready for this, my first touch has to be ready.
Paul Scholes, speaking on BT Sport, said we just have to get rid of the ball. Clear your lines. I can only think of a center half in world football who would want the ball in that position and could handle it. Harry Maguire is not one of them. David de Gea can see that, he can see that there are three men around him and he doesn't feel comfortable in that position. Maguire was making just his second start in Europe this season at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán, with first-choice centre-backs Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane both suffering injuries in the first leg.
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