Harry Maguire Talks Manchester United Set-Piece Issues, Victor Lindelof Pairing

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire believes the team need to better their defending from set-pieces if they are going to improve this season.

The Red Devils have endured an inconsistent campaign as they are eighth in the Premier League table.

While the acquisition of Maguire has helped the team improve defensively, they remain unsure when it comes to set-piece situations. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk scored from a free header when the Red Devils were beaten 2-0 at Anfield last month.

The former Leicester City man said he's been pleased with the side's defending overall, but dealing with free-kicks is one area United must make strides, per Gemma Thompson of the club's official website:

"We're keeping a lot more clean sheets than we were at the start of season and we've never really been a team which has conceded a lot of chances. 

"We've been poor from set-plays with our defending and we've had a couple of great goals scored against us from outside the box, but we haven't really been having games where David [De Gea] has had to make five or six saves, apart from maybe the Carabao Cup second leg against [Manchester] City, when David was brilliant."

After Van Dijk's goal, Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News commented on the team's initial naivety dealing with the situation:

Ben McAleer of WhoScored.com noted that it's not just defensive set-pieces where the team have been below their best: 

Maguire became the most expensive centre-back of all time when he moved from Leicester to United in the summer. The England international has impressed early in his Old Trafford career and was named captain when Ashley Young was sold to Inter Milan in January.

While there are still issues for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to iron out defensively for United, the summer signing has helped steady the ship. The surrender at Anfield four games ago was the last time the team conceded a goal.

The 26-year-old Maguire has played alongside Victor Lindelof in defence for long spells this season and thinks they are developing some chemistry: "It's a partnership that's building, and I think we'll get better and better and start keeping more clean sheets like we have been doing recently."

Last month, B/R Football's Rob Blanchette said he doesn't think the Sweden international is a natural partner for Maguire:

Solskjaer will want to see his team preserve their defensive solidity when they return to action from their winter break.

The Red Devils will face Chelsea on Monday in a crucial league clash in the race for a UEFA Champions League spot. The Blues are in fourth place, just six points clear of the Manchester giants.