Harry Maguire after the Manchester derby.

Maguire proud to captain United to derby win

Sunday 08 December 2019 07:00

Harry Maguire says he was extremely proud to captain Manchester United to victory in his first-ever Manchester derby.

The summer recruit put in another assured performance at the back against our local rivals, where the Reds won 2-1 at the Etihad Stadium thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

With Ashley Young not starting in the clash, Maguire was handed the armband and he said after the game it was a moment to remember.
Maguire proud to win the derby as captain Video

Maguire proud to win the derby as captain

In our exclusive interview, Harry Maguire explains how it felt to captain United to a Manchester derby victory...

“I feel really proud to lead the boys out at the Etihad and to get the three points,” our no.5 told MUTV.

“It was an important game for us. I think the last two games, no one can question that we’ve deserved our victories. 

“We knew they were going to come strong and throw everything at us. I think we held on well and I don’t think they created too much in the second half,” he added.
While United’s defensive performance at the Etihad was commendable, Harry was full of praise for our offensive players on Saturday evening.

The four-pronged attack of Daniel James, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial caused the City backline all kinds of problems in the first half, and we were unlucky to head into the break only two goals ahead.

“It was a great start from the lads in the first half, the front four were frightening and when they’re on their game like that, they can cause any defence problems,” Harry said. 

“Over the last month or so, I feel like I look at the forwards and think they’re going to score goals. At the start of the season we didn’t really score more than one goal in a game but now, it’s a few games in a row where we’re back to scoring goals
“They’re a big threat, they’re top talents and I think it’s all coming together now. We’re not getting carried away - it’s a big three points, a special win, one for the fans and I’m really happy for them. We just keep moving up that table and keep chipping away.”

Saturday’s win was made even sweeter given that our top-four rivals Chelsea slipped up against Everton in the day’s early kick-off. The result means United again cut the gap to the Champions League places, something Maguire knows we can continue to do over the coming weeks, with performances like the one at the Etihad.

“I think you need to look after your own results and don’t look elsewhere,” he said. “We need to keep winning games, we’ve won back-to-back games against Spurs and City. 

“We’ve got another big game next week [against Everton]. The top four is in sight but we need to look after our own results and keep trying to get the three points, and keep improving.”

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