Ralf Rangnick labelled Harry Maguire's performance in Manchester United's 1-1 draw with Leicester City "flawless" after the defender was booed while playing for England, as Bruno Fernandes suggested the media were partly responsible.
Interim United manager Rangnick also praised the reception given to Maguire by the Old Trafford faithful, with the 29-year-old having been booed during England's friendly against Ivory Coast on Tuesday.
Maguire has attracted criticism for his displays in a United defence that has kept just seven Premier League clean sheets this season, a tally worse than nine other top-flight sides.
Rangnick, however, was impressed with Maguire's solid display against his former team on Saturday.
"The reaction of our supporters [to Maguire] was as it always is," Rangnick told Sky Sports.
"They are one of the best [fanbases], if not the best, in England.
"Harry played well, he had a flawless game today both defensively and offensively. It was a solid performance from him."
Midfielder Fernandes came to his team-mate's defence, claiming the media's coverage of Maguire's displays could have contributed to the jeers heard at Wembley.
"It's tough that your own country boos you in a game for the national team," Fernandes told Sky Sports. "It's maybe because of the media.
"It wasn't because of his performance, he played really well in that game. Sometimes the media should think a little bit more when they do things."
Maguire's display may have been perfect in the eyes of Rangnick, but it did not help United claim three much-needed points against Leicester.
Kelechi Iheanacho opened the scoring for the visitors before Fred equalised, though VAR spared United's blushes when James Maddison had a goal disallowed in a game that ultimately finished 1-1.
United have won just one of their last six games in all competitions and are three points behind fourth-placed Arsenal having played two games more.
Rangnick's team are also winless in their last four league meetings with Leicester, having won seven of the previous eight.
Though their chances of securing Champions League qualification look slim, with West Ham, Arsenal and Tottenham all still to play, Rangnick has pledged to fight hard.
"The second half was the better one," he said. "I think for most of the first half we were struggling to find our rhythm, maybe because of the long [international] break.
"The second half was better, but giving a goal away on a transitional moment didn't make it easy.
"I think the reaction after the goal we conceded was good, we came back and scored a goal, then had two or three good moments where we could have scored the winning goal, but we didn't.
"In the end we are not happy with the result, but the second half was okay.
"As long as it [fourth place] is possible mathematically, it is possible. It is our job and duty to do our best to finish on the best possible note."
Guardiola insists Man City share same title hunger as challengers
Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City share the same hunger to lift the Premier League trophy as their title rivals, warning perfection may still be needed for the champions to retain their crown.
It has been a mixed week for City's rivals thus far, with Arsenal thrashing Chelsea 5-0 on Tuesday before Liverpool suffered a surprise 2-0 defeat in Wednesday's Merseyside derby at Everton.
Those results mean the Gunners sit four points clear of City and Liverpool lead the champions by one, but with two games in hand, the title race is still very much in City's hands.
They go to Brighton and Hove Albion on Thursday before facing Nottingham Forest on Sunday, and Guardiola still thinks even the slightest slip-up could prove costly.
Asked whether City need to win their six remaining games to win the title, Guardiola said: "Yes, absolutely. They gave us a chance, with the fact they lost last week to Aston Villa and Crystal Palace.
"But we knew what we had to do before those games, and now we have to win all games so that at the end, we have it in our hands to retain our title.
"Nothing changes. The fact is, we knew what we had to do before, and now nothing has changed."
Guardiola was then asked whether City are as motivated to win the title as their rivals, having lifted the trophy in five of their seven seasons under him to date.
He said: "I would not be here [if not]. There are so many games, and to be in this position after what we have done in the past, it would not be possible [without the desire].
"We know the difficulty is extreme, and it will remain difficult because we have tough games coming up. We go one game at a time, and we know that if we lose, it will be so tough to retain the title.
"Last Saturday proved the many difficulties we have, especially the schedule and recovery time after the game against [Real] Madrid. The players were unbelievable."
Guardiola hit out at the busy nature of the schedule after Saturday's FA Cup semi-final win over Chelsea, saying he couldn't understand how his players had managed to perform just three days after their penalty shoot-out defeat to Madrid.
Those comments have sparked renewed debate about the football calendar, and Guardiola was asked whether elite clubs had a right to complain while organising money-spinning pre-season tours around the globe.
"Yeah, but we have to do it," he said. "We have to pay the salaries of the players and the manager, and the club has fans all around the world who want to see us. They are an income for us.
"It's not easy, but we have to get resources. I would love to say don't go to another continent to play, have another week of holiday, and then train here. But we have to understand the club.
"It's not just Man City. Every club needs those financial resources to be sustainable. Now that we've won a lot, for many years, we have a lot of supporters. That's why it's necessary to do, and you have to adapt.
"But that is not the reason why [he complained]. The reason is that the schedule is so tight. I'm sorry, it's not."
Man Utd matchwinner Fernandes: Criticism part of the job
Bruno Fernandes said Manchester United's players cannot afford to get annoyed by outside criticism, after he scored twice to fire the Red Devils to a much-needed win over Sheffield United.
Erik ten Hag's team were roundly criticised for their performance in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City, as they surrendered a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 before inching through in a penalty shoot-out.
They had also gone four Premier League games without a win (three draws, one defeat) prior to Wednesday's meeting with the rock-bottom Blades, with their hopes of Champions League football all-but over.
They twice trailed as Sheffield United threatened a huge upset, but Fernandes scored twice and supplied an assist as they fought back to claim a 4-2 win.
Asked whether the noise around Sunday's semi-final win had affected the mood at Old Trafford, Fernandes told Sky Sports: "That's part of the job.
"You can be in a run of games where you win eight or nine in a row, and when you lose one you know you'll be criticised.
"Being at Manchester United demands winning every game, so it's part of the job. If there is anyone in the dressing room still not used to that, they will get used to it!
"Being a Manchester United player demands being ready to receive as much criticism as praise. We receive praise when we do good things so we can't be annoyed by the criticism.
"When people want to do that, they might have a point. We can think in a different way, but we have to take it in the same way as we take the credit they give us."
Ten Hag's team did look disjointed for long periods on Wednesday, though, and they have now conceded 50 Premier League goals this season.
The Red Devils have now shipped a half-century of goals in two of their last three Premier League campaigns, having done so just once in their previous 29.
Ten Hag, though, was content with most aspects of their performance, saying: "It was a good game for the crowd, they saw four goals and many chances that we created.
"I think we played quite well, we created many more chances, so there's many positives. But also negatives. Conceding two goals from giveaways, that's unacceptable.
"We want to play dynamic, attacking football. That is what we want to see. Since the winter we have created lots of chances and also scored a lot of those chances."
Premier League record falls as 2023-24 becomes most goal-laden 20-team season
The current Premier League season has become the most goal-laden 20-team campaign in the competition's history, with Harry Maguire the unlikely man to seal 2023-24's place in history.
Maguire scored Manchester United's first equaliser as they twice fought from behind to clinch a 4-2 win over Sheffield United on Wednesday, with Bruno Fernandes netting twice in the second half.
The centre-back's 42nd-minute header was a significant moment, representing the 1,085th goal scored in the Premier League this term.
That is the most ever scored in a season containing 20 teams, since 1995-96.
The 2022-23 season saw 1,084 goals scored, a tally that was reached on the final day to surpass the previous 20-team record of 1,072, set in 2018-19.
It was somewhat fitting for the record-breaking goal to be conceded by Sheffield United, who have certainly played their part in making 2023-24 the most goal-laden season to date.
The Blades have now shipped 92 goals this term, the most ever conceded in a 38-game Premier League campaign.
With four games to come, including a rematch with a Newcastle United team that thrashed them 8-0 earlier this campaign, the prospect of Chris Wilder's men bringing up triple figures is a realistic one.
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