Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has jumped to the defense of his defender, Harry Maguire, following a horrific show during their second-leg Europa defeat to Sevilla. 
The quarter-final match ended 3-0 in favour of the Spanish side and Maguire was at fault for the first goal the team conceded in the eighth minute. His undefined pass at the edge of the box got intercepted by Youssef En-Nesyri, who netted the opening goal. However, Ten Hag has defended him, insisting that the England international is an example for the team. 
He said; “He has an important role, he is the captain, he leads and he communicates with the manager, motivates the team, he’s the example in the training space.”
Havertz converted a penalty in Tuesday night’s last-16 clash, and it was a goal that gave Chelsea the 2-1 win on aggregate. The German footballer who spoke to reporters after the match was asked what qualifying for the quarter-finals of the Champions League meant for Potter. He told beIN Sports; 
“We know the pressure is coming at him. You can see he is a big manager. In the media I cannot believe how many people talk about him. “We have 100s of coaches in England that think they know better than him. We know in the changing room he’s a big personality and big manager and helps us all a lot. Me included. We are 100 per cent behind him. “Even though the people may not see it, today everybody seen he is a big manager.” 
Though Chelsea has splashed out around £600 million ($723m) across the last two transfer windows, Potter has only gotten nine wins from 25 games. The 47-year-old who was handed the managerial reins at Stamford Bridge in September 2022, has said that he is “not stupid” and recognises that “people want something different” from the club. He told reporters; “I am not stupid or naive. My job is to keep going and keep helping and supporting the team and take that criticism. You can only be yourself and try your best while being yourself. I get it that when you are losing that there’s always something you should do or change. I have always been this way and it has gotten me to this point but, at the same time, I know people want something different.” 
Potter further listed some of the challenges he’s faced so far and which have impacted negatively on the club’s performance. He added; “There is transition and there’s factors but, at the same time, when the team is losing and we’ve had the results we’ve had then you can also understand it. We’ve invested in some young players, if you look at Enzo [Fernandez], [Noni] Madueke and [Mykhailo] Mudryk, they haven’t played that many games. They are learning to play in the Premier League. We’re managing quite an unprecedented injury list — so you have to manage that in the Premier League. All that is true but, unfortunately when you lose, it is not what people want to hear. I know my quality and I know what I have done in my career but I also understand than when results don’t go your way that you are open to criticism and that’s fair.”