Donny van de Beek believes Manchester United captain Harry Maguire showed “big personality” with his impressive reaction to some merciless booing during the opening stages against Crystal Palace in Melbourne.
The Erik ten Hag era continued with another promising pre-season friendly win on Tuesday evening in Australia, where the Red Devils recorded a 3-1 victory at the cavernous MCG.
Anthony Martial opened the scoring with his third goal in as many games, before Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho finished fine team moves in the second half.
There was a Joel Ward consolation and late red card for United youngster Will Fish but the main talking point in Melbourne was the jeers that met every Maguire touch at the start of the match.
The 29-year-old appeared to win over supporters with an impressive showing and the boos subsided, with team-mate Van de Beek impressed by the way the skipper bounced back.
“I heard as well,” the Netherlands international told the PA news agency. “I didn’t know really what happened.
“But I think if I saw the game today I think Harry was playing really well. He was aggressive, he got so many balls, so that means he has a big personality.
“He has a lot of experience, so I think that’s positive what he (showed), his performance today.”
