Harry Maguire was suspended for Manchester United's FA Cup semi-final against Brighton with Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw playing in the middle of the defence at Wembley.
Harry Maguire has praised fellow defender Victor Lindelof after missing out on Manchester United's FA Cup semi-final against Brighton, when the Swede partnered Luke Shaw at centre-back.
Since Lindelof and Maguire started together in the second leg of United's Europa League quarter-final against Sevilla, a match United lost 3-0 (5-2 on aggregate), then failed to feature in the semi-finals. with Brighton due to suspension. . . Maguire was at fault for Sevilla's first goal, when he lost the ball under pressure after a David De Gea pass, allowing Youssef El-Nesyri to score.
For the FA Cup semi-final, which United won on penalties after a 0-0 draw with Brighton, Shaw was chosen to partner Lindelof at centre-back in a four-man formation with Tyrell Malacia at left-back. This combination together kept a clean sheet in a questionable situation that led to a penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, Lindelof kept his composure to score the winning goal after Solly March missed Brighton's seventh attempt to send the ball over the crossbar. It received praise from Maguire, who sent a message of support to his longtime teammate in a post on his Instagram Story.
Since Lindelof posted an image to his feed related to "V for Victory" after the win, Maguire has posted the image to his own story on the social media platform. He sent a supportive message to the Swede, with the caption 'Yessss @victorlindelof', suggesting the pair are on good terms despite currently competing for a spot in United's backline. Maguire can lift the FA Cup this season, with a win over Brighton to set up the Manchester derby in the final against Manchester City. A win at Wembley would give the England international a second chance to claim the title in English football's homeland this season following United's Carabao Cup win in February.
Harry Maguire sends encouraging message to Victor Lindelof
Harry Maguire sends encouraging message to Victor Lindelof
However, Maguire may not get a chance to play as Shaw and Lindelof's emerging partnership is hailed by Ten Hag. The move was necessary due to the injuries of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, the former having a slim chance of returning before the final, while the latter is certainly absent from surgery.
However, the absence of his first-choice centre-back did not seem to worry coach Erik ten Hag too much, as the United boss praised the new partnership after the game. He also commended Lindelof for his composure, having been a reliable penalty taker for United in the past.
The Dutchman told BBC Sport:
"He [Lindelof] is pretty cool when it comes to shots on goal and he's pretty cool in general," he continued. "I think Victor and Luke Shaw played well. They work well with Casemiro."
The Reds face Man City on June 3 in the FA Cup final, with United hoping to complete a domestic double while also hoping to prevent their fierce rivals from winning the famous treble, what would repeat the historic feat of United in 1999.
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