Manchester United rolled back the years to avoid a third consecutive home defeat in the Premier League on Saturday, with Scott McTominay scoring twice in injury time to thwart Brentford.
But while the Scot’s rescue act justifiably grabbed the headlines, Harry Maguire delivered the kind of performance that should at temporarily silence his critics.
It was a rare ray of sunshine for the defender, who lost his place in the starting XI last season following a series of disappointing performances and was subsequently stripped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag.
Maguire looked set to rebuild his career at West Ham but the move collapsed during the transfer window and he has found himself marooned at Old Trafford.
Through it all, he’s been lambasted on social media and became a figure of ridicule, with Arsenal and Scotland fans both mockingly cheering his introduction last month.
Harry Maguire made his first Premier League start of the season on Saturday
The England centre-back started a Premier League game alongside Jonny Evans for the first time since they played for Leicester against Chelsea in May 2019
Maguire has always maintained he would do his talking on the pitch and was true to his word, as he made his first Premier League start of the season on Saturday with Hag turning to him and Jonny Evans to alleviate United’s defensive injury crisis.
While not entirely blameless in the defensive mix-up that led to Mathias Jensen’s opener midway through the first half, Maguire grew into the contest.
According to data from StatsPerform, the 30-year-old won both of his aerial duels and came out on top of 60 per cent of his five duels on the ground.
Maguire recorded a team joint-highest two interceptions and five recoveries in his 90 minutes on the pitch, as United held Brentford to a 0.87xG.
He finished the game without winning a single tackle, but made his biggest impact at the opposite end of the pitch.
Maguire set up McTominay’s winner with a perfectly cushioned header deep into injury time, continuing a recurring theme this season that has seen United’s defenders turn providers more often than not.
Worryingly for Ten Hag, United’s defenders have provided a combined four assists in the Premier League this season, one more than their midfielders and forwards have contributed between them.
Maguire’s attacking contribution, however, wasn’t limited to the assist.
Maguire set up…