Harry Maguire has come under no end of criticism as Manchester United captain since the start of last season.It felt like it took just a few weeks of the 2021/21 campaign for all the brilliant form that he'd shown the previous year, as well as at Euro 2020 with England, to be forgotten and for universal criticism to take its place.Now, don't get it twisted, Maguire was incredibly poor at times last season and ultimately played 30 times at the heart of a Premier League defence that conceded more goals than relegated Burnley.

Maguire's poor recent form

In fact, the man himself was happy to hold his hands up and admit that the last 12 months have not at all represented what he can truly offer at the 'Theatre of Dreams'.

According to the Telegraph, Maguire told fans at a Q&A event in Melbourne this week: “Listen, last year was disappointing, as an individual I didn’t play well and as team we certainly didn’t play well.

“But a good career can last 10 to 15 years and you’re never going to have every year where it’s plain sailing and you don’t have any difficulties. You’re going to have to fight, you’re going to have set backs and last year was certainly a set back for myself on my career path.

“But it’s behind us now and we look forward to the future and getting this club back to winning trophies, which is what it’s all about.”

Soccer Football - Champions League - Round of 16 Second Leg - Manchester United v Atletico Madrid - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - March 15, 2022 Manchester United's Harry Maguire during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Phil Noble

We dare posit that Maguire isn't the first player to endure a difficult season and he most certainly wasn't alone when it came to United stars who saw their form fall off a cliff across 2021/22.

As such, it has been uncomfortable to witness the avalanche of criticism that has continued to be poured upon Maguire despite Erik ten Hag having come out publicly and backed him as the club captain.

Maguire booed vs Crystal Palace

And the lingering disdain for Maguire couldn't have been more awkwardly apparent than during United's latest pre-season friendly, which saw them put Crystal Palace to the sword 3-1 on Tuesday.

That's because the Red Devils' fabulous performance was overshadowed by the fact that their captain was pummelled with boos at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

According to the Manchester Evening News, the United skipper was jeered by some of the fans in attendance when his name was read out by the tannoy system and each one of his first touches in the game was equally bombarded with boos.

And the volume of the dissatisfaction was only said to have increased when Maguire, starting for the second consecutive friendly, passed the ball out of play just 40 seconds into the clash.

Now, it goes without saying that not everybody in the crowd was giving Maguire a hard time and he was actually cheered during Friday's win over Melbourne Victory, but the booing nevertheless received firm admonishments across social media.

However, perhaps even more brilliant than fans coming out in defence of Maguire online was the fact that his performance down under served as two fingers up to the critics regardless of how people received the boos.

Soccer Football - Pre-Season Friendly - Manchester United Training - Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand - July 11, 2022 Manchester United's Harry Maguire during training REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

Maguire's individual highlights

In fact, not only was Maguire superb throughout the Palace triumph, but he produced some brilliant individual highlights along the way that have since been picking up steam on Twitter.

With one edit from Twitter user @midfieldxr amassing almost 800 retweets and over 3,700 'likes' at the time of writing, the evidence couldn't be any clearer that Maguire put in a defiant display amidst all the boos.

From aerial dominance to firm tackles and positive defending to excellent long balls, Maguire let his feet do the talking despite renewed pressure that many a player would have crumbled under the weight of.

So, regardless of whether you're a fan of Maguire or believe that all the criticism is justified, be sure to take a look at how he performed on his latest United showing for yourself down below:

Let's hear you say it: that was a top-class performance from Maguire.

According to Statman Dave, Maguire completed 60 out of 64 of his passes, won possession three times, played 10 long balls, blocked two shots, made three headed clearances and even took a shot.

Soccer Football - Pre-Season Friendly - Manchester United Training - Rajamangala National Stadium, Bangkok, Thailand - July 11, 2022 Manchester United's Harry Maguire during training REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa

Positive signs for Maguire

Ok, look, we're well aware that it's only a pre-season friendly and there is a very legitimate debate to be had about whether or not Maguire is up to scratch at United, but we all know that the criticism that's been aimed his way has gone too far at times.

However, what matters most of all is that he's got the backing of the people that count with Donny van de Beek having joined his compatriot and manager Ten Hag in publicly standing by the club captain.

"I heard [the boos] as well," the Dutchman said after the win, according to Goal. "I don't know really what happened.

"Today, Harry was playing really well. He was aggressive, got so many balls - that means he has a big personality. He has a lot of experience. That's positive, his performance today."

The reality of the situation is that Maguire will undoubtedly thrive at Old Trafford next season if he can churn out performances reminiscent of his Palace display. Easier said than done, yes, but well within his capabilities.