Man United welcome Atletico Madrid for the 2nd leg of the Round of 16 and there’s a chance that club captain Harry Maguire could move to the bench.
Ralf Rangnick has been primarily relying on the pairing of Harry Maguire and Varane in central defence but the duo has not been effective at all. While Varane has been able to leave a mark whenever he’s been fit, Maguire, on the other hand, has been really poor this season and against Spurs, he conceded an own goal.
The pundits and experts have been urging the manager to use Victor Lindelof alongside Raphael Varane and the German has hinted that a change might be incoming.
“Yes, it’s very important but, with Victor Lindelof, we have also won quite a few games and played well and had quite a few clean sheets,” Rangnick told reporters at his pre-match press conference.
“Right now, we have top players for the centre of defence and it will not be so easy for me to take that decision for tomorrow.
Harry Maguire told he's "not at the level to be Man Utd captain" by former team-matehttps://t.co/fVOuS6lyXq pic.twitter.com/Yyepoi45ns
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) March 14, 2022
“Also, when Victor came on in the last 10 to 15 minutes, he played well, but, as I said, it’s good to have Rapha fully fit again and it’s also good that we looked after him and he looked after himself, not playing too early again.
“Now he seems to be fit on a regular basis and can play for us regularly.”
Is Harry Maguire set to be dropped?
Harry Maguire has been really average and he’s made several unforced and silly errors throughout the campaign. The England defender has been a target for the opponent strikers but on the other hand, Man United have looked really solid whenever Lindelof and Varane have played together.
Ahmed Elmohamady, Harry Maguire's former teammate at Hull City says Maguire is NOT at the level of being Man Utd's captain and should be replaced next season. pic.twitter.com/oOOl0JNQvN
— UtdFaithfuls (@UtdFaithfuls) March 14, 2022
Since both Varane and Lindelof have recovery pace, United can afford to play with a high-line and this is a major advantage against sides who tend to sit back and defend.
Atletico Madrid are pros at playing a counter-attacking game so if Rangnick opts for the pairing of Lindelof and Varane then Man United will have a much better chance at pinning the visitors and picking up an early lead.
Harry Maguire, at the moment, looks very much error-prone and in such a high-intensity Champions League tie, even a single error could prove to be fatal.
There’s also a possibility that the interim boss might go with a 3-5-2 system but this would mean that either Pogba or Fernandes will have to move to the bench and this is something the manager won’t want.
