Manchester United produced yet another magical night in Europe this season as they ran out comfortable 3-0 winners against Athletic Club in their Europa League semi-final first leg tie on Thursday.
Bruno Fernandes stole the show with two goals, including a delicious dink over the keeper, and will rightly take home most of the plaudits.
But it was Harry Maguire who was responsible for a moment of magic out wide, which led to United’s opener through Casemiro.
The centre-back has come up trumps for Ruben Amorim when asked to play as a striker in the dying moments of games and at San Mames, his twinkle toes were on display this time out on the right as he bamboozled the full-back before putting in a pinpoint cross that was headed in by the Brazilian.
Maguire heroics
It has been a turnaround to remember for the Englishman — from being booed by fans during pre-season and being close to an exit a couple of summers ago to now being the first name on the teamsheet under the new head coach.
So impressed has the Portuguese tactician been that Maguire’s contract extension has already been triggered, which will keep him at Old Trafford until 2026.
That is not all as The Athletic have now revealed that another new deal could be in the works while the England international is also likely to remain with the club for the long-term even beyond his playing days.
“Maguire’s reputation has at least recovered dramatically from the dip suffered a couple of years ago, when United’s fans booed him on successive pre-season tours.
New deal
“He is at a stage now where United executives are keen for him to have a long-term future at the club beyond his playing days, and talks on a new contract are anticipated in the summer after his plus-one extension was triggered in January.”
A back-three suits Maguire’s strengths while it hides his obvious lack of pace. And most importantly, he is also excelling whenever Amorim is in dire need of a goal.
The England international is already a cult hero, and he has the chance to cement his name in the club’s folklore by helping the club lift the Europa League trophy this season and in the process, qualify for the Champions League.
He has already helped the team have one foot in the final, now for the team to focus on the job at hand and make matters sure.
Feature image Shaun Botterill via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
