Why Harry Maguire has been left out of Manchester United XI again

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 25: Harry Maguire of Manchester United looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford on September 25, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 25: Harry Maguire of Manchester United looks on during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Aston Villa at Old Trafford on September 25, 2021 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

Manchester United have had their struggles this season despite bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Tom Heaton in the summer. Once considered title contenders, they currently sit at 7th in the Premier League table and at the moment, their target should be getting back into the top four. Naturally, it goes without saying that a number of their players have disappointed this season.

One such player is Manchester United captain, Harry Maguire. The defender had had a very impressive 2020/21 campaign, for both the club as well as the England national team. The picture has been very different this time around though.

Maguire was out of the previous game against Aston Villa and Manchester United ended up conceding two late goals to blow their 2-0 lead, with the match ending in a 2-2 draw.

Thus, many had expected the captain to be back in the heart of defence for this one but once again, he is on the bench for this one. And it appears that it has nothing to do with his form but a rib injury instead. Earlier, Pete Graves tweeted out:

Maguire left on the Manchester United bench again

It is safe to say that the Manchester United captain has not had a great season, but as we saw against Aston Villa, they have not looked the most formidable without him either.

The fact of the matter is that a number of players need to step up at Old Trafford if they are to turn this season around and have some form of success in this campaign.

It remains to be seen if they can do that over the coming months. When Ralf Rangnick was brought in as the interim manager till the end of the season, hopes were that he would act as the catalyst for that change but till now, things have remained pretty much the same and Manchester United have continued to struggle.