Harry Maguire gets over Man Utd hammering by watching brother in League Two… but he doesn’t fare much better
HARRY MAGUIRE got over Manchester United’s hammering by Liverpool by watching his brother in League Two action.
But Laurence fared little better either as new club MK Dons were narrowly defeated at Salford City.
England defender Maguire, 31, came off the bench yesterday as United were thrashed 3-0 at Old Trafford by Liverpool.
Erik ten Hag’s men were second best in all areas of the pitch as Arne Slot continued his 100 per cent start.
The defeat, United’s second in a row, has raised question marks over whether new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe made the right choice to keep Ten Hag as boss.
And the pressure is now on for United to return to winning ways after the international break against newly-promoted Southampton.
Maguire was a second-half sub at the Theatre of Dreams yesterday, replacing Matthijs de Ligt with the score already at 3-0.
United’s former captain appeared to be as unhappy as the rest of his teammates were when the final whistle blew.
But Maguire was all smiles on Monday night as he made the short trip to Salford, who are co-owned by United legends including Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, to see brother Laurence in action.
The younger Maguire sibling, 27, turned out for MK Dons in their 1-0 League Two defeat to City.
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Laurence was snapped up from Chesterfield in June, having just helped loan side Crawley Town to League One promotion.
But despite playing all 90 minutes against Salford, Laurence was unable to prevent Dons from slipping to their third defeat of the new campaign.
The two brothers share a strong bond, and were even spotted playing BINGO with punters at a Haven holiday park over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Older sibling Maguire will now be heading to St George’s Park to link up with new England interim boss Lee Carsley.
Gareth Southgate’s successor starts his Three Lions reign with a clash against the Republic of Ireland this weekend.
England then take on Finland at Wembley, where they will pay tribute to Sven-Goran Eriksson.
And Maguire will be hoping some wins with his national side can inspire him to lift United upon his return.
Why De Ligt is the perfect Man Utd signing
By Lee Scott
One of Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag’s biggest headaches has been fixing their leaky defence.
Despite still not being anywhere near his peak years De Ligt has built considerable experience so far in his career with Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich and he has 45 caps at senior level for the Dutch national team.
While he is not necessarily a highly modern ball playing type of defensive player he is a player with the defensive strengths and instincts to help shore up a United defence that was, at best, leaky last season.
He has a great ability to read the game which was one of the biggest issues that we saw from the United defensive unit last season.
De Ligt is also a master in one-on-one situations, who shows strength and intensity in his duels.
The Dutch star does a good job in keeping things simple and tends to make good decisions in possession.
The pursuit of Matthijs de Ligt makes perfect sense for United and for Ten Hag as a young defender who is still to reach his peak.
He has considerable experience at a high level and he understands the game model and system of play of the manager.
Click here to read our full analysis on De Ligt joining Manchester United.