Journalist spots awkward moment between Erik ten Hag and Harry Maguire in crushing Sevilla defeat

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag may have made his mind up about Harry Maguire after a tense moment between the pair was spotted in Thursday's crushing defeat to Sevilla.

United were dumped out of the Europa League after a humbling 3-0 loss to the Spanish side in Andalusia.

With the quarter-final tie finely poised at 2-2 after the first leg at Old Trafford, United made the worst possible start to the reverse fixture.

A calamitous error from Maguire, who was caught in possession on the edge of his own box after a terrible pass from David de Gea, allowed Youssef En-Nesyri to put Sevilla ahead on the night after just eight minutes.

Loic Bade gave the La Liga side a two-goal lead from a corner shortly after half-time before another huge mistake from De Gea later in the half allowed En-Nesyri to grab his second of the match and kill the tie.

It was a hugely embarrassing defeat for United, who looked lost without injured duo Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane in central defence and suspended vice-captain Bruno Fernandes.

It also raises further questions over the future of Maguire, who has endured a nightmare season after being dropped by Ten Hag early on in the campaign.

Journalist spots awkward moment between Maguire and Ten Hag

Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst spotted a tense moment between Maguire and Ten Hag during the first half.

Reflecting on Maguire's mistake for Sevilla's opening goal, Luckhurst wrote: "Maguire's sympathisers shall scapegoat De Gea yet Maguire demanded the ball when surrounded by a triangle of Sevilla shirts. They had all corners covered.

"During a stoppage in the 28th minute, Ten Hag actually edged away from Maguire as he approached the touchline to rehydrate."

Speaking after full-time, Ten Hag struggled to hide his frustrations with both De Gea and Maguire.

"It's clear. When we make such mistakes, it's difficult to win a football game," he told BT Sport.

"It's a problem and we have to acknowledge it but against Brighton, we have an opportunity to work on that. You have seen what I have seen. We were not composed or calm."

United will need to bounce back quickly as they next face Brighton in their FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday.

Topics: Manchester United, Harry Maguire, Erik Ten Hag

Rory O'Callaghan

Rory O'Callaghan is Editorial Lead at SPORTbible. He has previously worked for Sky Sports News, MailOnline and Reach covering football, cricket, boxing and MMA. Tested daily as a Liverpool fan in a Manchester office.

@rory_ocallaghan