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English Premier League
SportFootball
Andy Mitten
Andy Mitten

On The Ball | Manchester United’s porous defence misses skipper Maguire, with Bailly a nervy stopgap

  • United have now lost three out of their last four matches as their Premier League form falls away
  • Solskjaer desperate to restore Harry Maguire to his place at the heart of the United defence ahead of Gdansk date with Villarreal

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Eric Bailly’s challenge on Liverpool’s Nat Phillips almost cost his team in the Premier League clash. United don’t have the same stability when the Ivorian plays. Photo: AFP
Andy Mitten

If only Manchester United’s central defence could stand as firm as the forbidding wall erected by the club to keep protesting fans out of Old Trafford.

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Harry Maguire, usually an every minute of every game mainstay, has been absent for United’s two midweek home matches separated by only a day this week.

Though United’s captain tried to urge his teammates on from the stands this week, United lost three times in a Thursday to Thursday run which encompassed four games at the start of a May that has been anything but merry. Ten goals were conceded.

Roma last Thursday was erratic and considered the poorest performance of the season by the coaching staff, poor in that the players didn’t follow their instructions. It mattered less as United hammered the Italians 6-2 in the first leg to all but reach the Europa League final. Tuesday’s defeat to Leicester can also be explained given 10 changes were made and the side featured two debutants, but “Manchester United 2-4 Liverpool” will never compute in the brains of United fans. Believe it or not, the United players were well up for the game, too.
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One win from their remaining two games will be enough to see United finish second, a position few fans expected to reach at the start of this season. Combine that with a Europa League win against Villarreal in Gdansk on May 26 and this season would be considered a success – for now.

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