MANCHESTER UNITED star Harry Maguire has been accused of “hiding” against Newcastle by former Premier League defender Ashley Williams.
United were outplayed by Eddie Howe’s side and lost 1-0 at St James’ Park.
Williams accepted Maguire defended well but was shocked by what he saw from the England star when the Red Devils were in possession.
He said Maguire failed to show for the ball when goalkeeper Andre Onana was in possession and accused him of using a sneaky tactic to get away with shirking his responsibilities.
Williams said on the Vibe with Five podcast: “Do you know how many times he put himself in a position where he knew ‘I know that he knows that I can’t get this ball of Onana, so I’m leaving him.
“I can’t deal with this sneaky, kind of ‘ah I’m going to look like’ – so how many times did you go inside and point to [Aaron] Wan-Bissaka? Like as if ‘Onana give it to Wan-Bissaka and I’ll get it on the next one’.
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“He’s hiding! There are so many accounts of it. That’s why my melon was going when I was watching it, because everyone’s had their say about him, he’s turned the corner – no you haven’t!
“They’re saying he defended well fair enough but what about when your playing Newcastle and they press high, you’ve got no target man so you can’t bypass the press, you have got to have at least the bottom six getting on the ball trying to help.”
Maguire, 30, also came under fire from fans after he deflected Anthony’s last-gasp strike into the net from an offside position.
The defender was in the wrong place at the wrong time but fans felt it exemplified his lack of luck at the moment.
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However former United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer praised Maguire for the way he has dealt with the criticism he has faced.
He said: “I think he has dealt with it in a fantastic way. It has not been easy. I have kept in touch with him and I have nothing but praise for the guy.
“He has been in it. It’s not easy to leave Manchester United because you know there’s a downturn almost everywhere you go. You get paid for your efforts when you are that type, when you are a good footballer and show that you have a heart for the club.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
