Bournemouth [UK], April 14 : Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag praised Harry Maguire for overcoming his injury and stepping up in the second half for his team against Bournemouth in the Premier League.
Manchester United fought back twice to take away a point from the Vitality Stadium with a 2-2 draw.
In the first half, Maguire struggled to match the pace of the game. After the game, Ten Hag revealed that the English defender battled an injury as he played the entire 90 minutes.
"One thing was Harry Maguire had an issue in the first half and for us he overcame [it]. During the game, he recovered from it and you see in the second half, he was up there and then he can express his leadership, he can express his defending qualities and his [ability] on the ball," Ten Hag told reporters in his post-match press conference, as quoted from the club's official website.
"We needed that in this back four, we lost some balls in areas we shouldn't lose them. For instance, the first goal, the setup was good, but in that area, you should never lose the ball," he added.
One of the questions that drew criticism from fans was the substitution of young Alejandro Garnacho at the half-time mark.
Ten Hag explained his decision to substitute the young Argentinian winger and said, "I think we had to repair the right side," Erik explained regarding the half-time switch involving Alejandro. We didn't play well, the spaces were there in possession and we had to bring a sub there."
"Garnacho was, during the week, also not training. Only yesterday [he trained]. So, we thought bring some energy and bring some more quality, quality in the sense of cooperation, togetherness on that right side," he added.
After going winless in their fourth consecutive match, the Red Devils will look to bounce back in the FA Cup semi-final clash against Coventry City.
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