Man United vs Crystal Palace: Maguire is very solid — Ten Hag praises former captain

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag was full of praise for Harry Maguire and the rest of his players after their demolition of Crystal Palace.

The Red Devils made light work of the Eagles in what was meant to be a competitive all-Premier League EFL Cup tie, romping Roy Hodgson’s men 3-0.

Despite naming a heavily rotated side, Ten Hag’s men put on a clinic, going ahead in the 21st minute thanks to an Alejandro Garnacho side and doubling it six minutes later with a Casemiro header.

Anthony Martial opened his account for the season in the 55th minute of the game, closing off scoring for the day. It was game management time for the Red Devils, and they went about the rest of the game professionally, keeping their clean sheet intact.

The much-maligned Maguire was named from the start and was an integral factor in Manchester United’s success as they started the defence of their EFL Cup title.

He was nearly unplayable, completing 103 passes of his attempted 116, for a success rate of 93 per cent. He won all three of his attempted aerial duels, completed six of seven long passes, and only lost out on one of three contested ground duels

Ten Hag praised the England international’s performance, saying he was solid.

 "He was very solid, just as you can expect,” the Dutch manager said about Maguire, per the BBC.

When asked about the general performance of the team on the night, he said the following:

“It was a good night; we played quite well and dominated the game. That's what we are looking for.”

"If you don't win, of course, there is frustration and disappointment, and the mood is then dropping. But the spirit was always good; the togetherness was there and is there - you could see that today.

"We made a step forward at Burnley with how we defend, the togetherness, and today on the ball we made another step.

"Still a lot to come, but we're moving forward."