Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has insisted that the Premier League side have “mental” issues to address after throwing away a 2-0 lead against Porto in the UEFA Europa League.
Maguire scored an injury-time equaliser to rescue a 3-3 draw in Portugal, but after being in control of the match after 20 minutes, United failed to keep up with the pressure and went a goal down.
Speaking to TNT Sports after the match, Maguire backed manager Erik ten Hag to come through the latest struggles. He noted that the club need to work on their defense.
“When you get 2-0 away from home in a place like this, you’ve got to be a little bit more solid and a little bit more secure. There were far too many gaps, too many crosses coming into the box for sure.
“It’s more probably of a mental issue, it’s something we’ve got to overcome. It starts with belief. When we go 2-0 up then concede, does the belief go a little bit between the boys that we can go on and win the game? It’s something that we need to be aware of, something that we need to focus on,” Maguire said.
“The boys on the pitch have obviously got together, they’ve got to realise that it’s happened far too many times. They’ve got to realise that every time we concede it’s something that we need to reset and refocus and go back to the game plan that got us the lead in the first place.
“If we want to be successful this season, we can’t be conceding two goals in as many minutes as we have done this season.”
Maguire defended his manager and backed him to handle the pressure.
“I’ve played for this club now for six years so I know how it works and when you go through a bad spell players come under pressure but also the manager does,” he said.
“He’s experienced enough, he’s been in the game long enough, he’s been at this club long enough that he’s probably learnt how to deal with it. It’s part and parcel of playing for this club or managing this club. It’s part of the privilege that you have.”
