10 clearances, 0 tackles, 0 interceptions: mighty United star did the dirty work against one-trick-ponies Everton

Manchester United came out on top in a combative clash with Everton. Michael Carrick’s side got back to winning ways with a 1-0 win at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Benjamin Sesko again coming off the bench to score a crucial goal. It was another huge cameo from the summer signing, but at the other end there was a lot of work for United to do as Everton mounted a siege on Senne Lammens’ goal. Maguire magnificent After a drab first half from both teams the hosts settled into a physical approach, pumping ten corners into the box and crowding the six yard box. Lammens was fantastic but was well protected by a robust backline fearlessly led by a towering Harry Maguire. The Englishman rose to the challenge of rebuffing Everton’s tactic and made a match-leading ten clearances, more than double the amount managed by any of his team-mates. In an illustration of the pattern of the game he did not make a single block, interception or tackle. Battling performance Unsurprisingly Maguire was involved in a lot of duels, contesting 12 – only Casemiro attempted more. The centre-back came out on top nine times, winning two of the three ground duels he contested and seven of nine in the air. The 32-year-old is often a goal threat for the Red Devils but was not given the opportunity tonight. On the ball, only Matheus Cunha had a lower passing success rate than Maguire, whose game was more utilitarian than creative. He found his man with 43 of 55 attempted passes for a success rate of 78%, and only managed two accurate long balls from 11. Harry Maguire vs. Everton PlayerHarry Maguire Goals0 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0 Def. contributions10 Tackles (won)0 (0) Interceptions0 Clearances10 Blocked shots0 Recoveries6 Ground duels (won)3 (2) Aerial duels (won)9 (7) Dribbled past1 Key passes0 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes43/55 (78%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)13/21 (62%) Passes in own half (acc.)30/34 (88%) Long balls (accurate)2/11 (18%) Touches70 Dribbles (successful)0 (0) Was fouled2 Possession lost12 Total carrying distance197.9 m Carries16 Progressive carries3 Total progression129.9 m Progressive carrying distance95.5 m Longest progressive carry34.9 m Total shots0 Shots on target0 Shots blocked0 It may not have been his most virtuosic showing, but his ultimate job is defending the goal and tonight nobody did a better job of it than Maguire. Stats taken from sofascore. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.