Under pressure Manchester United captain Harry Maguire has been told that Erik ten Hag made the right decision by dropping him for the win over Liverpool.
Maguire was left on the bench for the surprise win over the Reds, with Lisandro Martinez instead partnering Raphael Varane at centre-back. The duo formed a solid partnership, with Martinez in particular impressing as the hosts restricted Liverpool to five shots on target.
It means that England international appears to face a tough route back into Ten Hag's starting XI, having struggled for form over the past 12 months. His poor performances led to him being dropped when Liverpool visited Old Trafford earlier this week.
The decision to drop him was perhaps a surprising call, given that Maguire was named captain by Ten Hag. But former United keeper Ben Foster has insisted that the Dutchman was right to leave Maguire out of his team.
“It's important at that point, you’ve just got to pull them out of the firing line. It’s just one thing after another. The best thing to do… it’s almost like a dying dog, just put them out of their misery for a little bit," Foster told talkSPORT.
“Best thing to do is take him out of the team, take him out of the spotlight, whether it's just one game or even if it’s just for four or five games. It could be a month or six weeks, but you've just got take him out the firing line.
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“I felt a little bit for some of the lads who missed out the other night – the likes of Ronaldo and Maguire. The lads put that performance in and straight away every one goes, ‘See, as soon as you take the dead wood out or the players who haven't been performing out, that’s what we do!’
“It was the right decision anyway. At the end when Ronaldo came on, can you imagine if Liverpool equalised? The pelters Ronaldo would’ve got! Coming on and then them losing the lead, it would have been horrible."
Though Martinez and Varane impressed for the Red Devils, Foster believes that Maguire still has a part to play at United. He cast doubt on Chelsea's reported interest in the centre-back, instead making it clear that Ten Hag will have to call on Maguire again over the course of the season.
"He's not leaving. Harry Maguire's earning nearly £200,000 a week. I don't know many Premier League clubs willing to pay that. I also think that Lisandro Martinez is a very good centre-back when you come up against certain teams," Foster added.
"When you come up against a physical, tall team that are going to play for free-kicks into the box, corners, I think he's going to struggle. Those are the games where you need your height, people like Harry Maguire who get the ball out of the danger areas."
