Hargreaves slams Man Utd star for ‘nightmare’ display as Ten Hag needs to do three things to keep job

Former Man Utd midfielder Owen Hargreaves has slammed Matthijs de Ligt for his poor performance in the Red Devils 3-3 draw against Porto on Thursday night.

Sunday’s shambolic 3-0 home defeat to Tottenham increased the focus on Erik ten Hag, whose side flew out of the blocks in Portugal as Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund struck.

But Man Utd ’s soft underbelly was exposed as Pepe and Samu Omorodion then scored in quick succession, with the latter – a summer target of Chelsea – then slamming Porto ahead early in the second half.

Skipper Bruno Fernandes was sent off for a second straight game as Man Utd sought a leveller, which substitute Maguire provided with a header at the death to salvage a 3-3 draw .

And now former Man Utd and England midfielder Hargreaves insists Maguire will play over the weekend with De Ligt set to be dropped after “struggling”.

Hargreaves said on TNT Sports : “Harry will play on the weekend against Villa – he’ll have to. De Ligt has struggled really badly today.

“Obviously Samu is a super explosive and powerful player but against Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran thats not going to get any easier so he’s got some big calls to make.”

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When analysing De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez’s defending for Porto’s third goal, Hargreaves added: “They struggled. The gaps are too big there.

“De Ligt loses Samu who was absolutely brilliant in terms of running the channels, efficient in front of goal. That kid is a player and he caused De Ligt absolute nightmares today.”

The pressure continues to build on Ten Hag as Man Utd extended their winless run in all competitions to four matches with their match against Aston Villa at the weekend in the Premier League thought to be pivotal for the Dutchman.

Hargreaves continued: “He’s got to find a consistent centre-back partnership. He took off his two starting centre-backs for two centre-backs that have been there for a really long time, Evans and Maguire.

“He’s got to find goals at the top of the pitch, he’s got to find a defensive partnership and he’s got to find a partnership in midfield.

“But he’s been there quite a while now, Erik, and a lot of that should have been sorted. I think there will be a lot of questions after the game because that’s not the level they need to be consistent.”