Man Utd: How Lisandro Martinez dealt with De Gea pass compared to Harry Maguire | OneFootball

Who was at fault for the first goal Manchester United conceded against Sevilla on Thursday night: David de Gea or Harry Maguire?

That’s the question fans and pundits alike have been debating following Man Utd’s disastrous 3-0 defeat at the Estadio Ramon Sánchez Pizjuan.

Erik ten Hag’s crashed out of the Europa League in the quarter-final stage after producing a dismal team performance in Andalusia.

Drawing 2-2 after the first leg at Old Trafford, United were outworked, outfought and outplayed by their Spanish opponents, who currently sit 13th in La Liga but simply wanted the victory - and a place in the semi-finals - more.

The first, but not the last, time that Man Utd shot themselves in the foot was in the eighth minute, when Maguire was dispossessed on the edge of his box after receiving the ball from his goalkeeper.

Sevilla’s forwards won the ball and Youssef En-Nesyri produced a cool finish into the bottom corner past De Gea, who then cost United in the second half with some disastrous goalkeeping.

We’ll never know if things would have been different for Man Utd had they not conceded that dreadful opening goal.

Replays showed that Maguire asked De Gea to give him the ball, but whether the Spaniard should have obliged is debatable.

That said, some United fans on social media are defending De Gea on this particular goal, highlighting how Lisandro Martinez dealt with a similar pass while playing against Real Betis last month.

Quickly closed down by two opponents inside his own box, Martinez showed neat footwork before passing the ball to Luke Shaw.

Asked about his under-fire goalkeeper after United’s Europa League exit, Ten Hag told reporters: "He's the one with the most clean sheets in the Premier League, that shows he's a very capable goalkeeper.”

It’s likely that the Dutchman, like the vast majority of top-level coaches these days, is instructing De Gea to look for the short pass instead of booting the ball upfield.