Wayne Rooney urges Manchester United to start Harry Maguire to restore leadership after derby defeat

Wayne Rooney said Manchester United must start Harry Maguire to provide leadership to the squad after the club’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester City in the Manchester derby on Sunday.

Rooney, speaking on the BBC’s Wayne Rooney Show, said he was surprised Maguire had been left out of the starting lineup by manager Ruben Amorim and pointed to a wider lack of leadership and passion in United’s performance. Phil Foden opened the scoring before Erling Haaland added two goals as City secured a convincing victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Amorim started with a back three of Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Luke Shaw, with Maguire introduced from the bench in the 62nd minute. The result extended a disappointing start to the season for Manchester United, who have won one of their four Premier League fixtures and suffered an earlier Carabao Cup exit to Grimsby.

Rooney said Maguire’s leadership qualities were missed and questioned why he was not selected from the outset. "Harry should be starting," Rooney said. "I heard Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink talking about it and how much England missed Harry Maguire at the Euros because he’s a leader. I’m sat there thinking how is he not playing with the three defenders who are playing. He should be in there, there’s a lack of leadership."

The former United striker also echoed comments from former captain Roy Keane about a perceived absence of passion in the derby. Rooney pointed to the lack of physical engagement and urgency as the scoreline widened. "At the Etihad, you can lose that game but I didn’t see a tackle — even when it goes to 2-0, 3-0. I didn’t see anyone say ‘do you know what, I’m not having this’ and taking a yellow card or putting a tackle in," he said. "That passion, that desire. It’s continuing and continuing. I want to be as positive and supportive as I can be on the manager and the players but it’s very difficult to sit here and say we’re seeing a progression."

One moment of note for United was Benjamin Sesko’s first Premier League start after joining from RB Leipzig in the summer for a reported £74 million. Sesko was substituted after 80 minutes. Rooney said he felt sympathy for the 22-year-old, suggesting the striker had been fed hopeful crosses rather than quality chances and looked short of full match fitness.

"Sesko didn’t really have many opportunities and looked a bit off it fitness-wise," Rooney said. "United got into some really good areas. It looked like the crosses were just being put in there for the sake of it. What I will say for any centre forward or Sesko is when that’s happening it’s very difficult to time your run and to try to get on the end of things."

Sunday’s defeat increases pressure on Amorim as Manchester United prepare to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next Saturday. The club will seek an immediate response after a run of results that has raised questions about leadership, tactical choices and the integration of new signings.