After the World Cup ended, there was a feeling that Manchester United captain Harry Maguire would finally have the chance to reclaim his place in the first team after his impressive performances for England.
That, coupled with the fact that Erik ten Hag’s first-choice pairing Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martínez would be taking part in the final of the competition, meant that the club captain finally had a chance to impress the manager.
But as fans found out, the Dutchman ended up playing Casemiro at back alongside Victor Lindelof for the Burnley game before employing Luke Shaw alongside Varane for United’s two Premier League fixtures.
Why Shaw over Maguire?
Before the Bournemouth game, the manager was specifically asked about the change in defensive form and why the Dutch manager preferred Shaw over his club captain against Wolves.
“Of course, you have your ideas and a plan, but sometimes it changes because of circumstances like Harry and Victor’s illnesses,” Ten Hag said.
“Normally, they start the games we just played, but then Casemiro did well as a central midfielder (against Burnley) and then Luke Shaw did very well against Nottingham Forest.
“You have your ideas and a plan, but sometimes it changes due to circumstances.” ????️
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was asked about his defensive options, including playing Luke Shaw ahead of Harry Maguire ????⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bVmSj9stXS
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) January 2, 2023
“Also, you look at the game plan, the way we had to approach Wolves, and I thought it was the best matchup with Rapha and Luke.
“We especially knew the speed of Wolves from the right side and we were able to cover that because we wanted to attack on the left side with our attacking game from Tyrell Malacia.
“That was a good adjustment and also in possession you can have better angles with your left foot.”
The former Ajax manager was also asked about injuries to Scott McTominay and Diogo Dalot and whether World Cup winner Martinez was fit to play against the Cherries on Tuesday.
Dalot is coming back soon
McTominay played Burnley in the EFL Cup but has since been sidelined, while Dalot returned from the World Cup with Portugal with an injury, finally allowing Aaron Wan-Bissaka to receive the playing time he so desperately needed. needed.
“We have to see. They were both training yesterday and today,” Ten Hag said of Martinez and McTominay. “I am quite optimistic that both can return to the squad.
“Diogo Dalot also made good progress. We don’t want to take risks with anyone because we know there are many games left and we need a full squad to cover all the games”.
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