Harry Maguire is right - he is not the problem, Manchester United's system is

Manchester United suffered another embarrassing defeat against Liverpool, this time it was 4-0 at Anfield and Harry Maguire once again was below par.

However, beyond the captain, the whole team failed to perform but as usual, Maguire is the one who gets singled out for blame.

To be fair, Maguire did deserve to get scrutinised in this game as he was pulled out of position for Liverpool’s first goal, lost Sadio Mane for the third and then played a terrible pass in the 85th minute which led to the fourth.

That's a decent chunk of individual errors that any player would get blamed for, especially the captain of Manchester United. But what is not exactly right is the constant criticism and singling out throughout the season.

It appears all the talk has been affecting the centre back as well, having to publicly defend himself with comments.

“There’s a reason why both managers have put me in the starting XI every game for what I bring to the team, what I bring to the starting XI. But I do also understand that I’m the captain of this club. I cost a lot of money and when things aren’t going well, when we’re conceding too many goals, I’m going to get criticised," Maguire said in an interview. 

Although there is a lack of self-awareness about his poor form this season, Maguire is essentially saying he is United's best defender which is right.

He has undeniable quality, there is a reason he cost £80 million and though one could argue he was grossly overpriced, his performances at the time for Leicester City made it possible to place that valuation on him.

The real reason Manchester United have conceded 48 goals in 33 Premier League games this season is their defensive structure or lack of it.

Brentford (49), Leicester City (50), Southampton (52), Everton (52), Newcastle (55), Watford (62), Norwich (66) and Leeds United (68) are the only teams to have conceded more Premier League goals than United this season.

Statistically speaking, Burnley have a better defence than Manchester United this season as they have conceded three fewer goals despite looking set to get relegated.

Burnley does not have a single centre back that could be a Manchester United regular right now, what they have is a solid defensive structure which is what has been missing at Old Trafford.

Structures are built, improved and mastered on the training ground, the coach drills into the team how to react when they lose the ball in certain areas, the organisational structure of the team when the opponents have the ball, all of these are the responsibilities of the manager.

Another team that have achieved better defensive results than United this season despite not having the individual capacity is Wolves who have conceded 20 fewer goals than Man United this season.

Their defensive structure and organisation is top-notch thanks to the work done by manager Bruno Lage who has coached Wolves into the fourth-best defence in the league.

Only Manchester City (20), Liverpool (22) and Chelsea (23) have conceded fewer goals than Wolves so far and no other team currently falls below the 30-goal mark.

The point is this, take any individual out of that Wolves team and put in this United team, there will be no improvement. Whereas, Maguire playing for Wolves will most likely further improve their defence because they already have a structure.

Defending as a team is rarely about individuals, talented players will excel in a good structure, all that is required is for the coach to set up the team in a way that utilises the defender's strengths. 

Case in point is Antonio Rudiger, the German centre back had been considered a flop and a liability under previous coaches but is now excelling in Thomas Tuchel's system because it suits him.

Perhaps people should not be quick to write off Harry Maguire, he is a solid defender playing on a bad team.