'We are united': Harry Maguire denies reports of rift with Cristiano Ronaldo

Marcus Rashford had dismissed talk of dressing room divide earlier this week

Cristiano Ronaldo smashes Manchester United into the lead in their 2-0 Premier League victory over Brighton at Old Trafford on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. Reuters

Brighton's Alexis Mac Allister shoots at goal. Reuters

United's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring. Reuters

Manchester United's Jadon Sancho sees a first-half shot saved by Brighton goalkeeper Robert Sanchez. PA

United's Cristiano Ronaldo after a missed chance. Getty

Brighton's Jakub Moder heads at goal. Reuters

Brighton's Jakub Moder shoots at goal under pressure from Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes. AP

Rereree Peter Bankes checks the pitchside monitor before sending off Brighton's Lewis Dunk. PA

Manchester United's Jadon Sancho heads the ball. Reuters

Bruno Fernandes celebrates scoring Manchester United's second goal. Getty

Referee Peter Bankes shows a red card to Brighton's Lewis Dunk. PA

United's Cristiano Ronaldo heads a chance wide in the second half. Reuters

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes scores their second goal. Reuters

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire denied reports of a rift with Cristiano Ronaldo, insisting the team is united and focused.

United are in the midst of a disappointing season, with a top-four finish the best they can hope for in the Premier League.

Maguire has also been below par. Reports suggested the United skipper has felt undermined by Ronaldo's influence.

Marcus Rashford dismissed talk of a dressing room divide earlier this week and Maguire has denied the latest reports.

"I've seen a lot of reports about this club that aren't true and this is another," Maguire posted on social media ahead of Sunday's Premier League match at Leeds.

"Not going to start posting about everything that is written but I needed to make this one clear. We're united and focused on Sunday. Enjoy your day everyone."

Manchester United v Brighton player ratings

MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David De Gea - 8: Saved from Maupay early doors. Super flying stop from Moder as Brighton were the better side in the first half. Relieved as a 77th minute Moder shot struck his crossbar. Reuters

Diogo Dalot - 6: Crossing could have been better in the first half when United were poor. More touches than any other home player shows how involved he was. Getting better defensively. EPA

Harry Maguire - 6: Tested in a poor first half. Like his team, much better in the second half when he grew more confident. PA

Victor Lindelof - 7: Came in at the last minute as Varane was ill and did well. Fast and more aggressive as game went on. Welbeck got between him and Maguire to head towards De Gea on 90 minutes. AFP

Luke Shaw - 6: Little impact in first half. Better in second as United pressed further up. Booked after 71 minutes. Getty

Scott McTominay - 6: Midfield was overrun in a first half where the entire United team didn’t win a single tackle. Won the first tackle after 51 minutes to help set up Ronaldo. AFP

Fred - 5: Back in the team and gave the ball away for Brighton’s first attack. Disappointing first half. And second as he gave the ball away too much. Ironic cheers when his number came up to come off. AFP

Bruno Fernandes - 8: Lovely touches, if not perfect accuracy in the first half. Booked for protesting in second half. Missed a sitter on 71 minutes before setting up chance for Ronaldo soon after. Scored brilliant second for United in injury time. Reuters

Anthony Elanga - 5: Selected ahead of Rashford again. A touch hesitant in the first half. Switched sides in the second and was fouled by Dunk that saw Brighton reduced to 10 men. AFP

Jadon Sancho - 7: United’s first shot on target in opening 10 minutes and should have scored. That was United’s only effort on target in the first half. Neat around the area. Applauded when he came off. Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo - 8: Set up early chance for Sancho Scored the opener on 51 minutes, ending his longest goal drought for 13 years. Saw powerful header saved as he came close to making it two. Reuters

SUBS: Paul Pogba – (On for Fred 74’) 7: United controlled middle with him on pitch. Tricks and good combination play with those around him. Quick-thinking on the free-kick for the second. Reuters

Marcus Rashford – (On for Elanga 79’) 6: Brought down by a yellow card challenge as he launched attack. Reuters

Alex Telles – (On for Sancho 79’) N/A. Getty

BRIGHTON RATINGS: Robert Sanchez - 7: Solid block from Sancho and fine acrobatic stop to turn Ronaldo header over bar. No chance with goals. Getty

Joel Veltman - 6: Dutchman’s superb cross found Moder in box who would have opened scoring but for De Gea. Found Sancho’s pace too hot to handle at times and left on backside by Fernandes’ skill before United’s late second. AP

Lewis Dunk - 5: Captain helped restrict United to just one shot on target in the first half but, like his teammates, got sloppy at start of second and rightly shown red card after VAR check for bringing down Elanga. PA

Adam Webster - 6: Awful miss-control gifted ball to Ronaldo, who in turn set-up Sancho for early chance. Skinned very easily by Portuguese ahead of United’s opening goal but made a few timely challenges as United took advantage of extra man in second half. Getty

Marc Cucurella - 7: Very important block to nudge Elanga off ball with United man poised to shoot. Looked to push forward from left-back whenever possible and Spaniard is having a good first season in Premier League. AP

Yves Bissouma - 6: Left Ronaldo in aheap on the floor with one strong first-half challenge. Side-footed great chance just wide five minutes before break. Caught in possession in run-up to Ronaldo goal. Reuters

Pascal Gross - 7: Picked out Moder and Mac Allister for first-half opportunities with excellent passes and shanked a volley wide himself. Unfortunate to make way as red card forced Brighton into making changes. PA

Jakub Moder - 8: Had game’s first chance after six minutes but saw shot saved by De Gea. Thought he’d found net with thumping header but Spaniard pulled-off a magnificent stop. Cracked crossbar with curling strike from distance with 13 minutes to go. AP

Alexis Mac Allister - 6: Failed to connect properly with strike inside penalty area that he scuffed straight to De Gea. Booked in second half for hauling back Rashford. Reuters

Leandro Trossard - 6: Neat and tidy from Belgian without any big opportunities falling his way. Sacrificed after Dunk sending off. AP

Neale Maupay - 6: Seagulls’ top scorer didn’t get a sight of goal in opening 45 minutes but harassed and harried United’s defenders. Getty

SUBS: Tariq Lamptey – (On for Trossard 59’) 6: Supplied cross for Welbeck’s injury-time header that fellow substitute should have at least hit target with. Getty

Steven Alzate – (On for Gross 59’) 7: Good block to deny United substitute Telles a shot at goal and played part in helping set up late chances for teammates. Getty

Danny Welbeck – (On for Maupay 70’) 5: Former United striker missed chance to earn team late point when headed chance over bar. Getty

United's 2-0 win against Brighton on Tuesday lifted them back into fourth place in the English top-flight. But interim manager Ralf Rangnick faces a tough battle with a number of other sides also in the mix.

While Maguire has been off colour, Ronaldo has also suffered notable dip in form.

The Portuguese star, 37, went six games without a goal before finally getting back on the scoresheet against Brighton.

That victory stopped a dismal run of three successive games in which United had blown a first-half lead. And even though United moved up to fourth, but Rangnick will know their Champions League rivals have games in hand on a side that remain incapable of impressing over 90 minutes.

“It is great always when you have the three points especially after we draw the last few games. We are all very happy,” De Gea said after the Brighton game.

“We should be fighting for more things than the top four, but that is the reality. There are many teams fighting for the same position and with the quality we have we should win a lot of points.”