Once again, Manchester United showed signs of promise but ultimately dropped points with a 1-1 draw against Twente.
The Red Devils endured a frustrating start to their Europa League campaign after throwing away a lead in the second half.
Under the competition’s new format, United are set to play eight games in a league system before the knockout stage. After dropping points against Twente, Erik ten Hag‘s side have already dropped outside of the top eight after matchday one.
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Christian Eriksen continued his impressive form and scored his third goal in four games, but the Dane then made a costly error by losing the ball and handing Twente an equaliser after the break.
Eriksen was criticised by Owen Hargreaves after the full-time whistle for his mistake, but he was not the only United star that stained an otherwise good performance with a critical error.
Harry Maguire almost had flawless performance vs Twente
Ten Hag made three changes to his starting lineup against Twente, with Harry Maguire taking Matthijs de Ligt’s spot at centre-back.
United had kept three consecutive clean sheets heading into Wednesday night’s clash. Sam Lammer’s equaliser was the first goal conceded in over 300 minutes of football.
Christian Eriksen was guilty of giving the ball away to Twente in a dangerous area, but the situation was made worse when Maguire dived into a challenge and left himself out of position.
It was a reckless attempt and it left United extremely short at the back. Sadly, Maguire was enjoying a flawless performance before the mistake.
According to SofaScore stats, Maguire ended the match having won seven of his eight duels – the only blip in that record was the missed tackle that led to Twente’s equaliser.
He won 100 percent of his six aerial duels – one of which almost led to United scoring a winner in injury time but for a superb save from goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall.
Maguire was also not dribbled past at all during the clash while he also recovered the ball five times.
Harry Maguire is fighting for his Man United future
Following the arrival of De Ligt in the summer, Maguire’s position at centre-back is under big threat.
Ten Hag started the season with Maguire in defence as De Ligt settled in, but the Dutchman has now emerged as the first-choice partner to Lisandro Martinez.
When Leny Yoro returns from injury, Maguire could be pushed further down the pecking order.
READ MORE: Five things we learned from Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against FC Twente
Maguire was linked with a move away from United over the summer, and with Ineos still keen on Jarrad Branthwaite, he is fighting for his future at the club.
He will still get his chances to impress in competitions such as the Europa League and domestic cups, and he will need to impress the club’s new ownership if he plans on staying at Old Trafford.
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