Ralf Rangnick excuse for Harry Maguire was bizarre but Manchester United captain can turn corner

Manchester United's 2-0 win over Brighton brought about some much-needed respite for interim manager Ralf Rangnick and his under-fire team, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes' goals helping to restore some feel-good factor at Old Trafford.

Harry Maguire was one of the players who came in for the majority of criticism in the wake of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Southampton and the last few weeks have arguably been his darkest period as a United player after a series of underwhelming displays.

Rangnick did little to aid Maguire's cause with his pre-match assessment of the 28-year-old tending to thrive in a back three, as opposed to the back four United have typically played in under a number of different regimes, even if there have been occasional switches to a defensive trio.

Despite the pressure to drop Maguire, interim manager, Ralf Rangnick, came out to defend his captain in his pre-match press conference for the match against Brighton, admitting that while he needs to improve, he won't strip him off the armband.

"He's a player who has to develop, get better, like all the other players," he said.

"The way that we are playing now is new also to him because in the English national team he was used to playing in a back three and here at Manchester United, in most cases a back four, but still not being as proactive, not with that kind of rest defence always being on the front foot when we are trying to defend.

"This is something also new to him and it will also take some time for him to get used to that, to get adjusted to that."

It's true that Maguire has often played in a back three for England and shined in that system but he has also featured in a back four internationally too. At Euro 2020, he was superb at the