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Erik ten Hag has been told his hands are tied and Matthijs de Ligt must be benched for Manchester United's vital showdown at Aston Villa.

De Ligt suffered a torrid time as the Red Devils squandered a two-goal advantage, finding themselves 3-2 down to Porto, in Thursday's Europa League clash. Amidst the mayhem, with captain Bruno Fernandes seeing red once again, the new £43million signing was switched out for Harry Maguire, who salvaged a crucial last-ditch equaliser.

Former United star Owen Hargreaves is convinced Ten Hag will indeed choose Maguire over De Ligt for the pivotal match at Villa Park. And he hinted that Ten Hag could face the boot after a dismal kick off to the campaign.

READ MORE: Five things Erik ten Hag got wrong as Man Utd rescue late draw against Porto

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"Harry will play at the weekend against Villa. I think he'll have to," Hargreaves asserted. "De Ligt struggled today, Samu is a super explosive and powerful player, but Ollie Watkins, Jhon Duran... that's not going to get any easier. So he's got some big calls to make."

Not one to mince his words, Hargreaves also blasted United's overall sloppy defending. "There was a lot going on," he critiqued, reports the Mirror. "There were so many holes defensively.

"Manchester United didn't stop any crosses, and then to go 3-2 down after being 2-0 up was ridiculous. The middle part of the game was crazy. That's what it's been like for a couple of years."

TNT Sports' Karen Carney also didn't mince her words, saying: "Manchester United fell apart. At 2-2, we were massively fearing for Manchester United. Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt were really really poor tonight and Casemiro as well."

Ten Hag has come out yet again asking for patience, maintaining that his United squad - currently 12th in the Premier League - is still a project in its early stages. He told TNT Sports: "I don't judge us in this moment.

"I judge us at the end of the season. We are in the process. Just wait. We have to develop this team. We will work and continue. We will fight."

The beleaguered boss further clarified that taking off goalscorer Marcus Rashford at half-time wasn't due to an injury scare but rather a strategic shuffle to rest his players.