“The best thing to do” - Ben Foster uses ‘dying dog’ analogy to justify Ten Hag’s decision to drop Manchester United star against Liverpool

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Ben Foster has claimed that Erik ten Hag made the right call by dropping skipper Harry Maguire against Liverpool on Monday (August 22).

The Dutch manager made several big changes to his starting XI as the Red Devils took on their bitter rivals at Old Trafford. Captain Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo were both benched for the big clash, which Manchester United won 2-1.

Ben Foster has claimed that Ten Hag made the right move by benching Maguire, who has been severely scrutinized for his poor performances.

The former Watford keeper insisted that it was the need of the hour to take the defender away from the limelight and told talkSPORT:

“At that point, you’ve just got to pull them out of the firing line. It’s just one thing after another. The best thing to do… it’s almost like a dying dog, just put them out of their misery."

“Take him out of the team, take him out of the spotlight, even if it’s just for four or five games. It could be a month or six weeks but just take him out the firing line.”

Foster has claimed that he sympathizes with Maguire and Ronaldo, who will now be portrayed as deadwood. The former England keeper also suggested that Ronaldo would have been slammed had Manchester United conceded after he came on. He added:

“I felt a little bit for some of the lads who missed out that night – the likes of Ronaldo and Maguire. The lads put that performance in and straight away people say, ‘You take the dead wood out and that’s what we do!’"

“At the end when Ronaldo came on, can you imagine if Liverpool equalized? The pelters Ronaldo would’ve got!”

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Harry Maguire has flattered to deceive at Manchester United

Maguire made his move to United from Leicester City back in 2019 for a fee of £80 million.

The Englishman is still the most expensive defender of all time but has not been able to live up to his price tag at Old Trafford. Being given the armband by former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also piled more pressure on the Sheffield United academy graduate.

Maguire has consistently made headlines for the wrong reasons as he has been quite error-prone in a United shirt.

With Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez doing exceptionally well against Liverpool, the Englishman might face a battle to reclaim his place in the first team.