Harry Maguire came in for significant criticism during Manchester United's more difficult moments last season, and there were worrying signs in the opening game of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Club captain Maguire started among the subs last season as United were beaten 4-0 by the Seagulls. However, he was back in the fold on Sunday as Graham Potter's side claimed their first ever victory at Old Trafford thanks to a double from Pascal Gross after the German also scored in last season's clash.
Before the game, a lot of the conversation surrounded new manager Erik ten Hag and the changes he has been making around the club. Not all of those tweaks appear to have landed, though, as Maguire quickly demonstrated.
Ahead of the new season, Ten Hag has changed the allocation of dugouts at Old Trafford. It's a change to an arrangement which has been in place since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson.
"In a new lay-out agreed with Erik, the home and away dugouts have been permanently switched so that the United manager, staff and substitutes will now be sat in the seats to the west of the half-way line – the dugout previously occupied by the away team," a club statement read.
"Erik approved the move after visiting Old Trafford for the first time in May and noting how the old away dugout was closer to the tunnel, and to the half of the pitch where substitutes warm up." The changes have also impacted how the teams line up in the tunnel before games, but old habits seemed to die hard for Maguire.
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As players from both sides lined up in the tunnel before kick-off, Maguire could be seen in conversation with goalkeeper David de Gea. The Spaniard appeared to be reminding his captain of the change, gesturing towards where opposing captain Lewis Dunk was stood, and the groups eventually swapped sides before entering the pitch.
The match was Maguire's first alongside new central defensive partner Lisandro Martinez. The Argentine has arrived for big money from Ajax, and the captain suggested it might take some time for the partnership to develop.
"It’s great to have Lisandro Martinez at the club," Maguire said after the defeat. "We have competition for places at centre-back. We’ve not played much together and in that first period we weren’t on the same wavelength. Centre-back partnerships are built over time and we will get a lot better and keep clean sheets."
