'Wing wizard' Harry Maguire aims to solidify Manchester United's defence in Europa League final
FILE - Manchester United defender Harry Maguire says they have to be solid at the back in their Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Image: Conor Molloy / ProSportsImages / DPPI via AFP
Surprise wing wizard Harry Maguire says he hopes he can stay in his defensive comfort zone for Manchester United in the Europa League final against Tottenham on Wednesday despite his attacking cameos earlier in the competition.
Ruben Amorim's men have the chance to end a disastrous season on a high in Bilbao against their Premier League rivals, who are also enduring a terrible campaign.
Central defender Maguire scored the winning goal in a remarkable comeback against Lyon in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, with United winning 7-6 on aggregate.
Then he dazzled on the wing to help set up the first goal in the first leg of the semi-final against Bilbao -- a tie that ended 7-1 after the two legs.
The former United captain was asked on Tuesday whether his forward forays were part of a new tactical masterplan by Amorim.
"The manager has me dribbling every day in training," he joked. "No, listen, I found myself on the wing against Bilbao and managed to put a good cross in.
"Cas (Casemiro) has scored the goal. No, someone has just asked me before that. Obviously, I've gone up front in the later minutes of the game (against Lyon).
"Tomorrow night, hopefully, I'm not going up front. I don't want to be going up front and chasing a game. I want to be defending the lead."
He added: "I'm always there to help, I'm always there to do my best but I'm more than happy playing in my favourite position."
Hero to villain
The England international, 32, has played regularly this season after a difficult period in which he fell out of favour under former United manager Erik ten Hag, also losing the captaincy.
But he said it was "amazing" to be playing regularly again.
"This season I have played a lot of football. I don't take too much notice of the plaudits from the media and things like that," he said.
"When you play for this club you can be an amazing player and the following week you can be the villain. That's part and parcel of playing for this club.
"I don't read too much into it. I try and stay as level as I can. Every game I go into it and try my best, and that's all you can do."
United's current skipper Bruno Fernandes said the players at Old Trafford craved success after their struggles.
The club are 16th in the Premier League with one game to go -- certain to finish in their lowest position since they were relegated in 1974.
But winning the Europa League would guarantee a place in the Champions League next season.
"We want to be at the top of everything, not only the Europa League, not only the Premier League," he said.
"We want to be at the top of the FA Cup, the Carabao (League) Cup, everything we are involved in.
"This club needs to be fighting for everything we have ahead of us."
Fernandes, who is the joint top-scorer in the Europa League this season with seven goals, said a trophy win could be transformational for United.
"It won't change the past, it won't affect what the past has done to us... but what can it affect is the future, probably yes.
"Obviously winning the competition gives you a lot of things. You get a place in the Champions League, it gets a lot of revenue for the club, it gets obviously more players wanting to come to the club."
AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
an hour ago
- TimesLIVE
Chase Briscoe beats Hamlin to take Pocono win
Former NFL coach Joe Gibbs went for it on fourth down by hiring Chase Briscoe to drive his famous No 19 Toyota last June. The Mitchell, Indiana, driver converted in a giant way on Sunday. Briscoe had enough fuel to get to the end and hold off Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Denny Hamlin at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, winning the NASCAR Cup Series' The Great American Getaway 400 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Driving in his first season for JGR, 30-year-old Briscoe, who led 72 laps, held the point most of the final stage but appeared to be short on fuel after leaving his pit box early on lap 119. However, the fifth-year driver held a consistent half-second lead over Hamlin's No 11, beating him by 0.682 seconds for his third career win in 161 starts and earning a postseason playoff berth. "It was hard having a guy chase you, specially the guy who's probably the greatest all time here," said Briscoe of Hamlin, who holds the Pocono record with seven wins. "An amazing day for our race team. It's the first race where we've, truthfully, executed all year long." Briscoe had only two victories over his first four seasons and knew Gibbs hiring him to pilot the car Martin Truex Jnr drove to 15 wins from 2019 to 2024 would come with pressure. "They took a big chance on me, right?" Briscoe said. "Like, I wasn't everybody's first choice, I think. But for me to get here and finally deliver is an awesome feeling." Briscoe became the sixth driver in the past eight races to record his first win of 2025 and put himself in the playoffs. Following Hamlin in the seven-caution race were Ryan Blaney, Chris Buescher and Chase Elliott. Returning to his No 11 Toyota after missing the Mexico City race due to his child's birth, polesitter Hamlin had to wait out inclement weather and took the green flag at 4:30 for the 160-lap competition, the 17th race on the Cup series schedule. With a week's rest behind him, Hamlin was tough right away on the 4.02km tricky tri-oval. Fellow row 1 starter Buescher kept within striking distance early in his No 17 Ford, but Hamlin outdistanced Buescher easily to lead all 30 laps of stage 1. With some drivers short-pitting a few laps before the end, Buescher held on to second for valuable stage points. Tyler Reddick finished third, followed by Briscoe and Erik Jones. On lap 83, four-time Pocono winner Kyle Busch was squeezed in the tunnel turn and spun to spark the fifth caution just past the turn 2 area. Last week's winner Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Dillon and Christopher Bell all spun but received almost no noticeable damage. However, winless Reddick took his No 45 Toyota to the garage with brake problems, which also failed teammate Bubba Wallace earlier. Briscoe's Camry XSE came alive in the second stage and won the 65-lap segment, his first stage victory since 2022. Josh Berry, Elliott, William Byron and Buescher secured top five bonus points. With 36 laps to go, the seventh caution for Van Gisbergen spinning off turn 1 was a bad break for leader Brad Keselowski, who had earlier been penalised for entering a closed pit and had yet to pit in the late cycle of stops.
eNCA
2 hours ago
- eNCA
Man City demolish Al Ain to reach Club World Cup last 16
USA - Manchester City booked their place in the Club World Cup last 16 with an emphatic 6-0 rout of Al Ain in Atlanta on Sunday. In a match dubbed the "Abu derby", with City owner and United Arab Emirates vice-president Sheikh Mansour's side facing off against that of his elder sibling, Sheikh Mohamed, president of Al Ain and also the country, the Premier League side showed no brotherly love. Ilkay Gundogan put City ahead before starlet Claudio Echeverri netted his first goal for the club with a free-kick and Erland Haaland slotted in the third with a penalty. In the second half Gundogan struck again, Oscar Bobb rolled in the fifth and Rayan Cherki grabbed his first City goal as they pulled level with Juventus on six points at the top of Group G. The result also confirmed Juve's place in the next round. "Now we have to see whether we'll be first or second in the group," said City coach Pep Guardiola. "We played a little bit better than the first game, especially in the second half." Guardiola said on the eve of the game his squad needed trimming and that was reflected in his decision to rotate his entire starting line-up from the opening win over Wydad Casablanca. In came superstar striker Haaland, new arrival Rayan Ait-Nouri, and exciting prospect Echeverri, among others. Serbian coach Vladimir Ivic's Al Ain were crushed 5-0 by Juventus in their opening fixture and the 10-time Premier League champions offered another unforgiving challenge. After a disjointed opening, City took the lead in the ninth minute in fortuitous fashion, with Gundogan's chip towards Haaland at the back post floating into the net of its own accord. Al Ain had a good chance to pull level when the dawdling Nico Gonzalez had his pocket picked and the UAE side sprang forward, but Nassim Chadli's effort was superbly tipped wide by Stefan Ortega. City's 19-year-old Argentine attacker Echeverri, on his first start for the club, doubled their lead after 27 minutes with a perfect free-kick that swerved around the outside of the wall and left goalkeeper Khalid Eisa rooted to the spot. With the Mercedes-Benz Stadium mostly full apart from the top ring of seats, fans began sending a Mexican wave around the ground. It came to a standstill when Bernardo Silva's corner was headed against the post by Josko Gvardiol, before starting back up. Haaland rolled a shot narrowly wide when he might have scored the third after a one-two with Silva sent him galloping through. The Norwegian hitman eventually got his goal in first-half stoppage time after Manuel Akanji was hauled to the ground by Ramy Rabia and City were awarded a penalty following a VAR review. Haaland sent Eisa the wrong way with a low spot-kick for his first goal of the tournament. - Relentless - Haaland should have scored again after the hour mark but Eisa denied him with a good double save. Instead it was Gundogan who got his second, with a well-taken dinked finish. The midfielder has recently been linked with a move to Galatasaray, but Guardiola said Saturday he is still counting on the 34-year-old in the United States. Substitute Oscar Bobb showed fleet footwork before rolling in the fifth at the near post before Cherki sealed the win. Signed from Lyon ahead of the tournament, the French attacking midfielder had a quiet debut against Wydad but powered home from the edge of the box late on in his second appearance. City face Juventus in Orlando on Thursday in a shoot-out to decide who will finish top of the group and potentially avoid a last-16 clash against Spanish giants Real Madrid. With one more goal they would have moved ahead of Juve on goals scored and had a slight advantage, but City ran out of time. "Unfortunately we started the second half a bit slow, so there was not much time at the end to score the last goal to be ahead of Juve ahead of the last group-stage game," Gundogan told DAZN. "That's maybe the slightly disappointing part of the night, but the result speaks for itself and it was fully deserved."
The South African
2 days ago
- The South African
SA teen Camden Schaper to London giants in R17 million deal
In a historic move for South African football, 13–year–old Camden Schaper has signed with Chelsea FC. This makes him one of the youngest and most expensive African talents to join a Premier League team of this magnitude. The deal, worth £700 000 (17 million ZAR), saw Chelsea beat out London rivals Manchester City for the skilled midfielder's John Hancock. Schaper started his career at SuperSport United. The young talent rose to prominence after captaining the club's U11 side during a tour of Spain in 2021. His acumen on the pitch drew in the watchful eye of European scouts, which led to Camden's tenure at Blackburn Rovers. He amazed in the U14 squad with a staggering 45 goals and 65 assists in a single season. Schaper's hallmarks are his creativity and vision, often playing as a number eight or 10. He has been touted as one of the most exciting prospects to be unearthed in South Africa in recent times. This move to Chelsea marks a significant moment, not only for his trajectory but for South African football and how this is perceived on the global stage. This deal has led to nationwide praise for Schaper in most footballing circles. Fans and pundits are in awe of this momentous milestone. The call for local clubs to sink more time and resources into local talents has been resounding. The risk of future talents slipping through the cracks needs to be reduced so as to see instances like these occur more frequently. Schaper still has a long way before playing football at the highest level. However, his efforts so far may very well inspire a new generation of rising talents. The youth academy at Chelsea is synonymous with nurturing young talent. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 11. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
