Neville said Solskjaer’s most costly mistake was starting Maguire against Leicester
Gary Neville has said that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to start Harry Maguire against Leicester on Saturday was his biggest mistake as Manchester United slipped to second league defeat of the season.
Maguire was injured during United’s home loss against Aston Villa last month and was expected to be about for a matter of weeks. Surprisingly, he was restored to the starting lineup at the King Power stadium, but played a part in all four of his old club’s goals as they ran out 4-2 winners.
Admitting that United’s performances have been below par throughout the season – not just on Saturday – Neville singled out the selection of Maguire as being Solskjaer’s costliest error against Leicester.
“I think picking him in the first place was a big problem,” he said on Monday Night Football. “I think the panic of maybe not having [Raphael] Varane and Maguire might have caused him to do that, but then not taking him off at half-time, because it wasn’t just the goals – generally, he was nowhere near it.”
He added: “I think Eric Bailly should have played next to Victor Lindelof. That was the biggest mistake he made on Saturday. If Maguire had been fit – he’s someone who’s been brilliant for them for the last two years – they would not have had the trouble they had.”
🗣 "The biggest mistake Ole made was the selection of Harry Maguire, he was nowhere near it."@GNev2 is baffled that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer selected Harry Maguire on Saturday with the defender not looking fit to play pic.twitter.com/JklaM3qqxe
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 18, 2021
United’s loss at Leicester is followed by the Champions League visit of Atalanta on Wednesday night, before a huge Premier League clash with Liverpool at the weekend.
Defeat in either of those games will heap even more pressure on Solskjaer.
Related links:
- Marcus Rashford’s camp reportedly upset by Solskjaer’s ‘prioritise his football’ comments
- Antonio Conte makes his feelings clear on Man United’s job to replace Solskjaer
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to remain Man Utd manager despite run of poor results
