After Erik ten Hag’s team fell behind to Brighton on Saturday, Harry Maguire defended himself to his teammates on Manchester United.

The starting eleven that beat Fulham on the first weekend was the same one that Erik ten Hag used, with summer signing Matthijs de Ligt staying on the bench.

Instead, Maguire paired Lisandro Martinez in the middle of the defense while it rained at the Amex.

Fabian Hurzeler’s team took the lead before the end of the first half, even though United looked like it would be more likely to score first.

From Brighton’s right-wing, Joao Pedro sent a tempting ball across the box that Maguire failed to clear, letting Kaoru Mitoma grab it inside the box.

The Japanese player then slid a low cross into Danny Welbeck, who was already on the move. Welbeck scored from close range against his old team to reach 100 goals in his career. 

As soon as the ball crossed the line, TV cameras caught Maguire telling his teammates, “I couldn’t get the ball.”. 

Brighton attacked back after the restart, and Maguire almost got caught off guard. Martinez stayed on the game.

He tried to stop James Milner’s close-range shot but failed. However, Diogo Dalot rushed back and cleared the ball off the goal line to keep United in the game.

At some point, United would get back into the game, and on the hour mark, Amad Diallo’s blocked shot tied the game.

Alejandro Garnacho’s goal for the guests seemed to put them ahead, but a VAR check showed that the ball hit Joshua Zirkzee before it crossed the line.

But Brighton would win in the end because Pedro scored in extra time to protect all three points.